


The Butterfly Effect

by Skinner (psiten)



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2010-03-25
Updated: 2013-09-30
Packaged: 2017-10-08 07:37:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 21,838
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/74221
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/psiten/pseuds/Skinner
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Uchiha Itachi was sure life couldn't get any better than going out for ice cream with his baby brother. Then, Naruto happened.</p>
<p></p><blockquote>
  <p>Almost there.  Just a little further...</p>
  <p>"Any sign yet?"</p>
  <p>Pressing against the wall, Naruto made another shadow illusion, just in time to see two chuunin walk into view below.  One said to the other, "If the chasers don't catch him, the sweeps will.  I heard they've cleared the perimeter."</p>
</blockquote>
            </blockquote>





	1. Ice Cream Sunday

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sumeria](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sumeria/gifts).



     "I don't need help," Sasuke said, "I can do it myself." That was perfectly fair, Itachi supposed. His baby brother was a big man now, after all -- a whole eight years old, and top of his class at Ninja Academy. So, he stopped trying to pick his brother up and let him climb onto the chair on his own. One leg up on the middle rung and a solid pull on the counter later, Sasuke was sitting properly enough and flashing him a smile big enough to break his heart. Itachi had to wonder if his baby brother was just as proud of getting himself into an ice cream counter's high chair as he was of getting perfect marks on his kunai exams.

     "Good job, Sasuke."

     He'd gotten home from his mission just before dawn this morning and found the midterm report lying out on the kitchen table. It had been left there for him to find, of course. Curled up in Itachi's own bed, the little brat, Sasuke had been playing at being asleep. It had been easy enough to tell from his breathing that it was just an act. '_Hey, Sasuke_,' he'd called out in a whisper, and sure enough one non-sleeping eye had opened. '_Come here_.' His brother had run over, right into the fingers Itachi had poked at his forehead. Fell for it every time. '_Congratulations on your midterms. Number one, huh?_' Itachi had stopped short of saying, '_Exactly what I'd expect of my brother_,' the first thing on his tongue. Some things, he just didn't want to say -- not just because as a son who'd destroyed his own family in the rebellion, he didn't want any legacy from his father. More than that, he didn't want to make Sasuke think about everything they'd given up for the peace and happiness they shared with the rest of Konoha. '_That's my Sasuke_,' he'd finished at last. '_Now run along. You've got your own bed, haven't you?_'

     It would have been nice to have been there when Sasuke had come home from school with his scores. It would have been nice to have more time with his baby brother in general, being all each other had as they were, but the life of an ANBU captain wasn't one he'd describe as '_nice_' exactly. A duty he was proud to be able to serve, but not _nice_. Days like this, when he had no missions and Sasuke had the day off from school -- these made every other day worth the struggle. The two of them always went out for ice cream when it was nice outside and they had the time. You couldn't study all day, every day. Not even Sasuke could -- or should, at any rate.

     "So, what'll it be?" the man behind the counter asked.

     "I'll have one scoop of squid ink and one of fried eggplant, with sprinkles," Itachi answered, then looked over to where Sasuke was wrinkling up his nose in distaste.

     "Two scoops of chocolate, please."

     "Coming right up!"

     Just as the server turned around to get their orders together, a loud fuss started around the corner. "Hey! Stop right there!" a man yelled, followed by a loud crash. "_Naruto!_"

     Sasuke scoffed, turning his nose up at the ruckus. "That Naruto's getting up to something again. Maybe if he weren't always goofing off, he wouldn't fail every test."

     "That's someone in your class?" Itachi asked, brightening a little. Sasuke didn't usually talk about the other kids. He always seemed to be alone at school.

     "I guess," his baby brother replied with a shrug.

     _Naruto, Naruto... where have I heard that name?_

     Well, besides the occasional yelling from chuunin trying to catch him in the streets. He was sure there was something...

     Was that... _Uzumaki_ Naruto?

     Then, suddenly, a tiny blond child sprinted around the corner with a grin on his face and a paint bucket in his hand, running as fast as his legs could go. Except for the marks like whiskers on his cheeks, he was the spitting image of the Fourth Hokage in miniature size.

     That had to be him -- Uzumaki Naruto, the Kyuubi boy.

     What was the Fourth Hokage's son doing running down the street with a paint bucket?

     Curiosity getting the better of him, Itachi stuck out his foot and tripped the boy as he was running by. He fell without spilling a drop of paint, so he couldn't have been _that_ poor of a ninja-in-training no matter how bad his test scores were. Before Naruto could get up on his own, Itachi picked him up by the back of his dusty white t-shirt and set him down in the chair next to Sasuke's. His baby brother recoiled, looking back and forth between Itachi and the dirt-streaked blond child suddenly sitting between them. Naruto wiped the dust from the ground off his nose and then made a few swipes at his shirt before giving up. Apparently quite satisfied with himself, Naruto's gaze darted around to look at the scenery before he settled a slightly confused expression on Itachi.

     "I'm Uchiha Itachi, Sasuke's brother. You must be the Naruto of whom I've heard so much." The boy's eyes were a bright blue, just like Minato-san's, and when he smiled that giant smile again, they actually seemed to shine. "You know," Itachi said, "you look just like your father, but you definitely have your mother's smile."

     Naruto's expression dropped suddenly into something more dumbfounded.

     _Oh, I suppose no one told him. Is that forbidden, like mentioning Kyuubi? I'll have to ask the Third Hokage._

     "You knew my father?" Naruto asked.

     "He was a hero who gave his best for the village." He could probably say that much without the Hokage's permission. After all, you could say the same to any of Konoha's orphans. Itachi smiled at the little boy blinking in shock. "You should be proud." It wasn't very different from what he'd told his brother that night -- a little over a year ago, after he'd ended the Uchiha rebellion -- when Sasuke had asked '_Were Dad and Mom bad?_' Itachi had wanted to make sure he knew that being an Uchiha was nothing to be ashamed of. Even though he'd had to explain exactly what had happened through a seven-year-old's tears, he wanted Sasuke to remember their parents without too much pain.

     This kid... He'd never even gotten to know his parents' faces, had he?

     Itachi had been in the thick of the fight when the Fourth Hokage had sealed Kyuubi inside his own newborn son, giving up his life in the process. Minato-san was a hero he'd personally never forget, even beyond the legend of the Fourth Hokage that the whole village remembered. That day, Sasuke himself had been only a few months old, and both he and Naruto had been lucky enough to grow up without a war raging on their borders. Both of them unlucky enough now to be living without the parents who'd died for that peace.

     "Did he come this way?" another voice yelled from around the corner.

     Two chuunin ran onto the street, looking around, and Naruto ducked onto the ground behind his stool, covering himself with an absolutely terrible camouflage sheet he'd whipped out of nowhere. Itachi worked a genjutsu to make the boy's hiding place rather less obvious just in time for the chuunin to show up at the counter.

     "Did you see a blond boy run by here, about this tall, wearing a white shirt?" the first one to approach asked, gesturing with his hand to show Naruto's height off the ground. "He was painting on some of the signs on the next street over. If it's not one thing with him, it's another..."

     Itachi smiled. He quite enjoyed the terrified and nervous expression most of the adults in the village wore whenever he smiled at them. Well, he supposed that -- from their perspectives -- he _was_ the Uchiha who had killed his own parents when they'd come after the Hokage, then cut down the rest of the clan in the streets outside. A little fear was to be expected. "There is no blond boy here," he told them. "You should look elsewhere."

     They nodded quietly and went on their way.

     "You can come out now, Naruto," Itachi said to the sheet-covered lump on the ground. The server, meanwhile, returned with their orders and looked after the departing chuunin with some concern as he set the ice cream down.

     A shock of bright yellow hair peeked out, followed by two blue eyes darting around, looking for trouble. What he found was the death glare Sasuke had aimed at him, which he met with a smile. It wasn't quite like his earlier grins. It was just as broad, but somehow sad. "Yo, Sasuke."

     "Hmph." Sasuke dismissed the greeting from his classmate, turning to his ice cream and taking the spoon. His little brother was adorable, even when he was being a haughty brat.

     Itachi sat down in the next chair over, leaving a space between him and Sasuke. "Take a seat, kiddo." That sure got his baby brother's attention. He shot a betrayed expression first at the chair, then at Naruto, which Itachi couldn't help but find amusing. Naruto had just barely gotten his hands up on the seat when Sasuke stepped from the rung of his own chair to the one Naruto was trying to claim. He pushed along the counter as fast as he could and sat on the blond boy's hands while grabbing a handful of Itachi's sleeve. Naruto stepped to the side, pulling back his hands, and the two boys stuck out their tongues at each other. Itachi knew that he was probably supposed to stop them from fighting, but he was too happy seeing his ever-serious brother having fun with a classmate to give it a thought.

     He nodded Naruto toward the chair that Sasuke had just vacated and watched as the blond clambered up on the seat. The kid pushed up on the seat with his hands first, struggling to get his knees up and under himself -- tottering precariously the whole time -- until he finally managed one leg onto the chair. Sasuke kept a wary eye on the whole process but let go of Itachi's arm, seemingly convinced that there was no more danger of being separated from his brother. Chuckling silently, Itachi poked his baby brother in the back of the head. That'd show him for being a possessive brat.

     What he hadn't expected was for Naruto to lose his balance at just that moment and pitch forward suddenly -- catching himself on the counter, but not before his head ran into Sasuke's.

     Oh dear. Apparently, not before his _lips_ ran into Sasuke's. Itachi somehow stifled a laugh as both boys pulled back sharply, covering their mouths with their hands and sharing a horrified yell in chorus. Grabbing his ice cream from in front of Naruto, Sasuke muttered something out his mouth tasting like fishcake and ate a spoonful of melting chocolate with an embarrassed blush burning across his cheeks. Following his lead, Naruto took the ice cream from in front of Sasuke, and Itachi was feeling far to amused to stop him.

     The blond made a strange choking cough and looked at the cup in terror. "What _is_ that?"

     "That's mine," Itachi answered, reaching across both boys to retrieve it. "Order whatever you like. It's on me."

     The two blue eyes went wide. "_Anything?!_ Really?"

     "Sure. Anything."

     The server came back over, but before he could even open his mouth to ask what the boy might want, Naruto started in. "Thank you, Itachi-san! Hey, mister! Can I have a banana split!? With ten scoops of chocolate, vanilla," he said, counting off on his fingers, "and green tea, and red bean, and strawberry?"

     "_Ten_ scoops?" he asked with some surprise. "So, two of each?"

     "No," Naruto answered, holding up both hands with all his fingers spread wide and smiling a huge smile. "_Ten of each_. And hot fudge and butterscotch and extra whipped cream please!"

     The man behind the counter turned to Itachi, scratching his head and waiting for the okay. Itachi nodded. He had said '_anything_', after all. Two seats down, the blond was leaning onto the counter, beaming at his baby brother. "Man, Sasuke... Your brother's the _best_!"

     "Of course he is," Sasuke said without blinking an eyelash or meeting Naruto's eyes.

     He couldn't believe he'd never realized Minato-san's little boy would be in Sasuke's class. And they even _knew_ each other. This was wonderful.

     "So, Naruto," Itachi began. "If you finish cleaning up the mess on the other street today, you'll be free tomorrow after school, right?"

     "Huh?" the blond asked, blinking confusedly.

     "_What?!_" Sasuke asked at exactly the same time.

     Ignoring both reactions, Itachi went on. "Because I was thinking, if you _were_ free, you should join me and Sasuke for training."

     "_Really?!_" both of them asked -- Naruto looking excited and Sasuke looking horrified in equal measure.

     "Really. We're doing kunai practice tomorrow. If you're not busy, you should come along."

     "Woo hoo!" His baby brother looked aghast at the blond, who had thrown both his hands in the air.

     "But..." Sasuke objected. "But he's the worst at _everything_!"

     "All the more reason to practice," Itachi said with a shrug.

     Naruto let out a loud laugh. "Just watch! I'll be the best someday, and everyone'll know it! I'm gonna be Hokage -- just wait and see!"

     "You can say that after you beat _me_, moron," Sasuke told him, twisting one of Naruto's arms behind the kid's back in a fairly effective-looking lock. The two of them fell off their chairs and started scuffling on the ground. Completely unheeded, Sasuke's half-eaten cup of ice cream melted on the counter, and the server brought over a huge mixing bowl filled with an ice cream sundae that looked twice as big as the little squirt who was planning to eat it.

     "Thanks," Itachi said to the server, who peeked at the brawl below before leaving to mind his own business.

     Sasuke had twisted Naruto's limbs up into a pretzel, and looked more energetic than Itachi had seen him acting in a year.

     "Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!!" Naruto called out, slapping the ground with his free hand.

     "Okay, you two. Get up here and eat your ice cream before it melts."

     They scrambled back into their chairs, now both covered from head to toe in dirt, and started shoveling ice cream into their mouths like there was no tomorrow, stopping only to glare at each other from time to time. Itachi smiled at the pair of them.

     He'd found Sasuke a _friend_.

     Best. Day. Ever.


	2. Problem Solved Forever

      "What _about_ Naruto?"

     Hiruzen narrowed his eyes at Oshike, the chuunin giving his report, and bit down on his pipe. He'd set his calligraphy brush beside him on the floor as soon as the man had entered, since he'd seemed perplexed -- confusion was hardly a desirable state in shinobi assigned to make sure Naruto didn't run wild or get into too much trouble. It was bad enough that he couldn't waste a jounin's time on it. The boy was only eight, and he could already evade half the chuunin in the village three days out of seven.

     "Were you not able to find him?"

     "Ah, well..." The man let out a breath and said, "We were. We found him in class today. The unusual part is that, _before_ we found him, the graffiti had already been cleaned up. When we told the shopkeeper that he should have left it for Naruto to do himself, he said Naruto _had_ done it."

     "Without being told?"

     "He, ah... that is, the shopkeeper said there was no one with him. Naruto had come back on his own, which matches the story we got from him at the school today."

     Dealing with situations that defied explanations was part of being Hokage. Hiruzen had come to expect it, but by no means did he _like_ it. He turned the matter over in his head as he drew on his pipe, but had no luck puzzling it out. Naruto had always acted out for the sake of attracting attention; cleaning up a mess before he'd even been caught didn't fit the pattern. If he had been developing a sense of responsibility, he'd done so very covertly. Without a doubt, there was something Hiruzen wasn't seeing.

     "Hokage-sama?" Oshike prompted.

     Clearing his throat, he picked up his brush again, dipping it in the inkwell and pretending he wasn't confused. "Well, if he's learned his lesson, I see no reason to punish him this time, but further incidents will be dealt with without any additional leniency. Keep on your toes."

     "Yes, sir." With a bow, Oshike turned to leave the office. Hiruzen watched him depart, too concerned with his story to return to calligraphy in earnest. As he approached the door, the chuunin jumped. Well, _twitched_, but that was only because his ninja didn't jump in fear at something insignificant. Danzou, of course, whose presence Sarutobi had felt when he entered the hallway, often got that reaction. Commanding the ANBU could hardly be left to someone _insignificant_.

     Hiruzen set his brush down again and waited for Danzou after the chuunin had disappeared. His friend's eyes tracked the departing shinobi down the hall, and he looked as confused as Hiruzen felt himself. "I couldn't help overhearing," Danzou said, and left it at that.

     "Yes, well, I'm not taking Naruto Watch out of the mission books until he keeps it up for more than a day," Hiruzen replied. He liked the boy, but he'd raised a few brats of his own, and there was no good that could come of letting a child go without discipline. Any rambunctious boy would be difficult, but the fact that he was a jinchuuriki... Well. Finding capable ninja to assign who saw him as something other than Kyuubi was practically impossible. There was no question that if Naruto decided to behave, it would be convenient, but C-rank missions were rarely solved by happenstance.

     Danzou thought the same, Hiruzen judged from his friend's continued silence.

     "And, no, I have no idea why he did it," he said in answer to the unspoken question. "The ways of eight-year-olds are, unfortunately, mysterious to old men -- as you well know. What's your concern with Naruto, anyway?"

     His former rival sat down beside him and straightened Hiruzen's brush so that it was parallel to the edge of the stand. "The Fourth Hokage made a good decision, sealing the demon fox as he did. I'll give him that. If he'd chosen badly, Konoha could have been destroyed. At the very least, we would have lost countless more good men. Naruto has that _potential_ inside him, and so far, even if he doesn't know, it's stayed contained." Danzou squinted at the half-finished calligraphy leaning against the office wall, lip twisting in distaste. "If there's a change in his behavior, knowing the reason is vital to the continued safety of this village."

     Hiruzen frowned and took another draw on his pipe. His friend was a gloomy bastard, but he had a point. Too many lives depended on his protection as Hokage; lives that would end if the seal in Naruto weakened and the power of the demon fox was too strong for the child. The monster caged inside had to be watched, as much as he wanted to give the boy a normal youth. It was only a small comfort that Naruto meant to be a ninja. A ninja's path was to live as a human weapon, after all; that was his choice, and his responsibility. But Naruto had never had that choice -- only the burden -- since the day he was born. Still, you couldn't treat a boy like a monster and expect him to grow up into a man. Too many villages made that mistake.

     Before either could speak another word, they sensed a presence at the window -- ANBU. With enough experience, one could feel the difference in the air even without seeing the uniform. The masked figure appeared in the window half an instant after they turned around.

     "Hokage-sama, Commander."

     "Itachi," Danzou greeted him, since they were alone. No one called him by his surname after the insurrection a year ago. He still wore the Uchiha crest on his back when dressed casually, but it seemed like he bore it more as a penance than an honor. "The mission was a success, I take it."

     "No difficulties, sir." He jumped down from the window and removed his mask. "My report is on your desk. Is there anything else you need before I go?"

     "No, nothing further. Time to pick Sasuke up from school?"

     Then Hiruzen saw something he'd never expected. The boy smiled. Nearly ten years he'd had Itachi as one of his most dependable men, and he'd never seen a smile like that. "That's right," he said. "We're training with Sasuke's new friend today."

     Well, this was certainly a day for unexplained occurrences.

     Naruto, the hellion who had to be watched at every turn, was cleaning up his own messes.

     Itachi, who had been cold before killing his entire clan and frozen after, was smiling.

     And Sasuke -- lonely little Sasuke, whom Itachi had locked away underground during the Uchiha Rebellion, who had waited in the dark for his brother to come home, and who now lived with being the only remnant of '_Uchiha_' to survive -- had a friend?

     That was three too many mysteries for one day. Mysteries didn't come in threes. Patterns did. "That friend wouldn't happen to be _Naruto_, would it?" he asked.

     Itachi's face brightened again. "Yes, actually. We ran into Minato-san's little boy yesterday, and when I found out he and Sasuke were in the same class, I invited him to train with us. He'll make an excellent friend."

     _Well, then_. Hiruzen bit down on the stem of his pipe, considering the prospect of using Konoha's Blond Terror to socialize the youngest Uchiha. As long as Itachi was there to make sure they didn't level the village, it would probably be safe. It might even be good for all three of them, if the short term effect on Naruto and Itachi was any way to judge. Whether or not Sasuke was actually interested in having a friend was more unclear than Hiruzen would have liked, but he'd save the talk on how you couldn't make a friend _for_ someone until after Itachi's attempt had gone into effect.

     The unlooked for smile faded into serious thought. "Speaking of Minato-san," the boy said, "Naruto asked me about his parents. How much am I allowed to tell him?"

     He pulled the pipe out of his mouth and narrowed his eyes at the ninja. "How much _did_ you tell him?"

     "Not much."

     Hiruzen had been too concerned with Kyuubi up to now to consider the matter. Naruto had never asked before. Caretakers assigned to the everyday nurture of war orphans had to pass those sorts of questions on to the main office to be handled by a professional. "I'll get back to you about that," he replied at last, rubbing his nose. "Naruto is, as I'm sure you're aware, a matter of great concern in Konoha. He can be a handful, and I know most people in the village would think twice before involving themselves with a jinchuuriki."

     "He seemed like a good kid," was all Itachi said.

     "I trust you'll manage." For a boy so young himself, he was doing a fine job raising Sasuke already -- far better than Hiruzen himself felt he'd done with his own firstborn, although his boy had turned out just fine despite having an amateur for a father. "It'll do Naruto and Sasuke good to have each other, I imagine. However," he said, raising his pipe at Itachi, "Naruto is an orphan under the care of the village -- remember that. Attendants will still need to check in on him, and if you don't want them in your house, he'll need to be in his own when they stop by."

     "Understood."

     "Very well, then. You're dismissed," Hiruzen said.

     With a bow, Itachi vanished. Behind him, Danzou sighed, and Hiruzen turned to look at his friend. He was staring out the empty window with a stunned expression that even a longtime rival like himself rarely saw on the man, especially when it came to his favorite captain. He liked Itachi so well in great part because nothing about his performance was ever a surprise. "Well," the ANBU commander said, throwing Hiruzen a rare smile of his own. "It's always good to find that one was concerned over nothing."

     He narrowed his eyes at Danzou and took up his calligraphy brush again. "Say that when the village is still here in the morning, would you?"

     "And people say I'm the pessimistic one."

~//~

     _Goin' to train with Sasuke, goin' to train with Sasuke..._ Naruto sang in his head as he molded a handful of dirt into a ball. He didn't want to say it out loud, 'cause someone might hear and want to come, too. He didn't know about Itachi-no-niichan, but Naruto didn't want them there and he knew for sure Sasuke wouldn't. Sasuke didn't like people, even if the other kids always made a big deal out of him.

     That was why he was waiting outside. If he weren't waiting for Sasuke, he'd have cleared out completely, but no matter _what_, he wasn't going to hang around inside the building. Too many kids being stupidheads. Too many parents and teachers looking at him like he was some nasty, no-good --

     _But that's all over!_ he thought as he rolled his dirtball around in a sandy patch. The day before, when he'd run into Sasuke and his brother at the ice cream stand, had changed everything. _Itachi-no-niichan doesn't look at me like that. And Sasuke..._

     Sasuke knew what it was like to be alone. The other boys and girls all thought he was awesome, no matter what their parents said about him being trouble, but they weren't his _friends_. _He_ was going to be friends with Sasuke. Naruto smiled as he pressed the sand into the ball so it would hold together while it flew. All he had to do was wait out here and follow him home. Sasuke'd probably pitch a fit, 'cause Sasuke was like that, but he'd see before long. Together, they'd be the two awesomest ninjas _ever_, and all the others would be eating their dust.

     He imagined a target on the old swing tree and let the ball fly. It busted to pieces against the darkening stain on the bark with a dull smack.

     "Naruto!"

     When he looked up, he saw Iruka-sensei running over, though he wasn't screaming like usual and his face didn't look like it was going to explode. "I didn't do it!" Naruto yelped.

     Iruka-sensei stopped in front of him and crossed his hands in front of his chest. "Didn't do _what_, Naruto?"

     "If something happened, it wasn't me. I've been here the whole time," he said, and pointed to the pile of dirt under the mark where he'd been pitching balls while he was waiting. "You know I can't make no clones, either!"

     "Make _any_ clones, Naruto, not 'no clones'. And if you keep practicing, you'll do fine. I promise." Naruto blinked. He'd never seen his teacher smile at him like that before. He smiled at the class, sure, but never at _him_. "I just wanted to tell you how proud I am of you. You really worked hard in class today, and I heard you talking with the shinobi who stopped by earlier. Cleaning up that graffiti was a good thing to do."

     Iruka-sensei wasn't that bad, either, Naruto thought with a grin. Not as awesome as Itachi-no-niichan -- he yelled a lot and he didn't like jokes or fighting -- but tons better than the teachers who just ignored him because they didn't want to look at him. "I'm way past playing around!" Naruto told his teacher, then he grabbed another handful of dirt and molded it between his hands until it was packed tight. "I'm gonna train, an' I'm gonna be the awesomest ninja there is, an' then I'm gonna surpass all the Hokages! Just watch!"

     While he rolled his new ball of dirt in the sand, Iruka-sensei reached out and ruffled his hair. "Are you, now?" he asked. Naruto stared at him, not sure what he'd done to make the teacher mess with his hair. None of the other teachers would get anywhere _near_ him, let alone do that. Not even the babysitter ninjas who made sure he ate dinner and stuff would do _that_. But Iruka-sensei acted like it was nothing and said, "Well, then, I look forward to seeing your grades improve."

     "Grades?" Naruto complained, twisting his mouth into a frown. "Why do I need _grades_?"

     "Well, you said you were going to study hard, didn't you?"

     Then Sasuke walked out of the school at last. Naruto grinned at his teacher and shook his head, handing off the half-finished dirtball before he jumped up. "I said I was gonna _train_!" he said and ran off after his friend. "Sasuke! Oi, Sasuke, wait up!"

     He didn't, of course. He walked straight down the road while Naruto ran after him and yelled. Like Naruto was going to let that stop him. He could run faster and keep going longer than most grown-up ninja he knew, let alone other kids, and Sasuke wasn't even _trying_ to get away. He was just walking and not paying any attention.

     "Hey, Sasuke," he said when he caught up. "Thanks for training with me."

     Naruto settled into an easy pace, walking alongside. "Hmph," Sasuke grunted, shifting his bag on his shoulder.

     "Are you going to meet Itachi-no-niichan somewhere?"

     Sasuke whipped to a sudden stop right in Naruto's path. "Don't you call him that!" he snapped. "He's not _your_ brother."

     "So what!?" Naruto yelled right back.

     "That's enough," Itachi-no-niichan said, suddenly by their sides and resting a hand on each of their heads. "Save it for the targets, you two."

     "Hmph," Sasuke said again, and Naruto would have pouted at being told to stop if today had been less _completely awesome_.

     "Thank you for showing Naruto the way home, Sasuke," the older boy said. Naruto smiled at his friend, but Sasuke didn't see. He was looking down at his shoes. "Let's go to the training field, shall we?"

     "Yeah!" Naruto yelled, ready to race off to the field. He'd beat Sasuke there, even if Sasuke knew the way and he didn't.

     But instead of running ahead, Sasuke grabbed Itachi-no-niichan's pant leg without saying a word. Well, he definitely couldn't find his way if Sasuke wasn't running _with_ him, so he fell back into a walk with the two brothers. "What kind of training are we going to do?" Naruto asked.

     "You'll see," was the response from Sasuke's awesome older brother. Seriously, since when were grown-ups that cool?!

     Naruto bit his lip, peeking around Itachi-no-niichan to get a look at Sasuke's face. Perfect Uchiha Sasuke, who only got bad scores in '_plays well with others_'. He was ignoring Naruto, and he was scowling. He always scowled. The girls in class called it 'moody' and 'brooding' and all kinds of stuff when they squealed over how cool he was. Naruto knew better. That scowl was to keep _people_ away, like that grip on his older brother's leg was to keep _someone_ close. That wasn't cool at all. Sasuke was lonely, and he didn't want pity from people who couldn't understand because they'd never been alone.

     But he'd been alone all his life. He couldn't pity Sasuke any more than he pitied himself, and Sasuke knew it. Sometimes, he saw Sasuke looking at him from the other side of the classroom, but he'd always put the scowl back on as soon as he noticed Naruto looking back.

     It was all because of the Rebellion that Sasuke went from proud to prickly, not that most people could tell the difference. Naruto only knew a little about how the Uchiha family had fought the Hokage a year ago. He'd been in his room 'cause the babysitter ninja had said there was a curfew and locked him inside, but he'd been allowed to look out into the darkness. Even though he'd sensed something moving, the night had looked still and empty.

     Then the shadows had come to life -- like the darkness was running toward the Hokage's tower -- and that empty street had been full of awful silence. The street vendors were gone. The drunk workers were at home. No one was playing in the streets. The whole night was full of fast creeping shadows, and the only sound was the mutter of the shinobi outside his window saying, "_Damn Uchiha_." The shinobi's eyes had been full of cold hate, like his voice when he said the name.

     Naruto didn't see a single face or body, but the shape of the shadows burned into his eyes. A gut-wrenching, clear vision what it meant to be a ninja, and he couldn't stand it. It stung in the back of his throat. He wanted to be a different kind of ninja. His own kind of ninja. Anything but that.

     The shinobi outside his window wouldn't talk to him, let alone say what was going on when Naruto asked. Then he'd stopped asking, 'cause four bodies had fallen out of the Hokage's window, one after another. It was far away, but nothing looked the same as a body when it fell, even from too far away to hear the sound. The shadows had cried with a noise like a hawk after that, freezing Naruto's blood. A single figure ran away from the tower, dark against the broad streets that shone bright under the moon. All around him, the shadows broke and swarmed to swallow him whole. All the shadows, and they all fell around him like waves crashing on the shore.

     And everywhere he ran, the shadows bled men, littering the streets and staining the ground. From Naruto's far-off window, they had looked like phantoms of the smooth shadows cast by the moon on an ordinary night. Like seeing all the people who might have been on the streets if they hadn't been locked inside their houses -- only without the people there to cast the shadows, they didn't move. Just the still forms of people strewn on the ground.

     One shadow had fled from his silent footsteps. Right in front of Naruto's window, he caught up to the shadow and drove a knife into his back. A man had collapsed to the ground in horrible silence; spreading blood had blotted out the image of a red and white fan, and the lonely figure turned to find other shadows to slay. That same red and white fan, painted large on his back, burned into Naruto's eyes in the moonlight.

     The Uchiha.

     All of them were Uchiha -- the shadows, and the man who had cut them down.

     No one talked about it in the morning. The streets didn't show a drop of blood and the shops opened at the normal time. Life had returned to normal, even though Naruto was sure he hadn't been the only one watching from a window. The only thing that was different was that the silence of that night lingered rows of empty houses -- all of the Uchiha were gone, except for one boy in his class and a legend named _Itachi_.

     Come to think of it, the figure in the moonlight must have been Itachi-no-niichan. He hadn't realized, even though he'd seen the fan on his back. Naruto took the man's hand while they walked through the quiet rows of Uchiha houses and squeezed. The older shinobi smiled down at him, so he smiled back. He didn't really know what had _happened_, except that it _had_ happened, but he could tell for sure that Itachi-no-niichan wasn't a bad guy. He still heard grown-ups muttering, about how the Uchiha had tried to kill the Hokage and how they'd been cut down by one of their own. They said that he'd taken it all on himself, as long as he got his one wish.

     "He made the Hokage promise that '_That One_' would be safe," was what the grown-ups said. They whispered about what might happen if '_That One_' grew up, and they never went near him. The grown-ups didn't use names, but Naruto had known right away who '_That One_' was.

     Sasuke.

     That was when he'd known they were the same. He'd always been a '_That One_'. When they threw looks at Sasuke that Naruto had seen all his life, he could see the night of bleeding shadows reflected in their eyes. Naruto had known, then, that they couldn't see him anymore than they could see Sasuke. But no matter what, he was going to make them all see and acknowledge who he was, and he'd erase whatever shadows they saw in his place. He'd shine so bright that they'd never believe they used to think he was a '_That One_'. He'd be Uzumaki Naruto.

     The dark-haired boy turned a glance his way, scowling and holding tighter to his brother. He'd show Sasuke the way out of the shadows even if he had to drag him kicking and screaming. That was what Sasuke had done for him, and he'd do the same for Sasuke if it took him his whole life.

     When people said 'Uchiha Sasuke', they wouldn't be afraid of the dark.

     He smiled, and a strange, confused look spread over his friend's face, who retreated back behind his brother, out of Naruto's line of sight. "Just watch, Sasuke!" he said. "I'm gonna get ten times the bulls-eyes you do!"

     "Say that when you can even hit a target, idiot."

     The clearing where they stopped had a rock in the middle and targets hung on trees all around. Off to his left, there was a row all at even heights, just like at school. To the right, targets were scattered -- high, low, on the ground, hidden behind trees, everywhere. Itachi-no-niichan let go of their hands and said, "Okay. You both stretched at school, right?"

     "Right!" Naruto yelled.

     Sasuke checked the strap on his kunai holster, then tugged on his brother's shirt and said, "I _always_ remember to stretch."

     "Good." He pointed to the left and patted Sasuke on the shoulder. "Sasuke, Naruto, you two go over there and warm up with your basic overhand throw."

     While they checked their kunai pouches, Itachi-no-niichan walked to the right, toward the scattered targets. "What're you going to do?" Naruto asked.

     "Me?" Sasuke's older brother looked back over his shoulder. "Just basic exercises," he said, and stepped up on the rock in the middle of the clearing.

     Naruto's breath caught. "What's he going to do with targets like that?" he whispered to Sasuke. He'd never seen anybody try for targets that were scattered like those, so he wanted to watch. Sasuke was watching, too. Watching had to be okay. "Something cool, right?"

     The dark haired boy spared him half a glance, with his protective scowl mostly melted away. "Nii-san," he called out. "Naruto says he wants to see what you can do."

     "Oh?" The older ninja faced them both, which made Sasuke break into a grin (until he noticed Naruto was grinning back). "Well, I suppose you can have one demonstration, but then you have to get to your own training." Once they'd both nodded 'yes', Itachi-no-niichan jumped into the air -- completely silent -- twisting and flipping over himself as kunai flew in every direction and hit the bulls-eye on every target. When the last one hit, the older ninja landed dead center on the rock.

     "That was awesome!" Naruto yelled, racing towards the rock. "I wanna do _that_!"

     Halfway up the rock, Itachi-no-niichan grabbed him. "Not so fast," he said, and jumped with Naruto back down to the ground. "You have to learn both parts on their own before you can put them together. Let's practice your throwing first."

     "Okay," Naruto groaned. More than being disappointed -- since he was only okay at flips and throwing weapons wasn't his best class -- he was kind of surprised at the way Itachi-no-niichan picked him up and carried him without flinching. Sasuke turned around and started throwing at the targets as soon as Itachi walked Naruto over and set him down. One after another, perfectly in the center, like he always did.

     "Very good, Sasuke. You're improving."

     His friend has a big smile for his brother, the kind he never showed in school, but really that kind of throwing wasn't any different from classes. _Those_ targets weren't all over the place!

     "I can do that, too!" Naruto hollered, and pulled a kunai from his pouch to lob at the nearest tree. Unfortunately, it went wide and landed in the roots of a tree three targets down. "One more try," he said to himself. Looking straight at the target, focusing as best he could, he chucked a second kunai.

     It was better. It landed in the roots of the tree he was aiming for, at least.

     "Naruto," Itachi-no-niichan said from behind him.

     He looked up, ready to protest that he could do it, and there wasn't any need to make him go away. He could keep up with Sasuke. He wasn't going to hold anyone back.

     "Just watch! I'll get the next one!" Naruto said.

     The older ninja knelt next to him, face to face. "Of course you will. And here's how. Just do exactly what I say."

     He stood back up, facing the target to Naruto's left. "First of all, hold the handle with the tips of your fingers, not the palm, like this." The way he held the kunai in his right hand seemed easy enough, but it took a couple tries to get the kunai to stay balanced in his grip. "Good," Itachi said when he got it. "Now, turn your left foot to face the tree straight on, and turn your right foot so it's just a little out to the side."

     Naruto looked at the way Sasuke's brother was holding his body, and adjusted his legs like he said. It felt a little weird, but not _too_ weird. He sort of remembered the other kids stances looking mostly like that during regular practice.

     "Right. Hips facing the target, keep your knees loose -- don't lock them. No, keep your toes facing straight on. Your toes are important. Now, are you ready?"

     Naruto nodded, listening as close as he could.

     "Okay, now watch carefully. Keep your eyes on the center, and bring your arm up." Naruto brought his arm up to his shoulder, moving his eyes between the target and the older ninja's example as fast as he could. When Itachi glanced over, he said, "No, just watch me for now. You can try in a second." He dropped his arm, but kept his legs in the right position, since he was starting to adjust to it. It still wasn't natural, and he didn't want to move until he was sure all of his muscles knew where to be.

     "Now, when you bring your arm forward like this," Sasuke's brother told him, miming the action slowly, "keep your wrist stable, and make sure the left side of your body is straight. You'll learn to do this without moving, but for now I want you to stomp with your left foot and use it as a pivot. Okay?" Naruto nodded as fast as he could, watching so hard he thought his eyes might start burning. "And the most important part is that you follow through. So, here's what it's going to look like."

     All the motions he'd demonstrated slowly, Itachi performed in one fluid move that was so fast, Naruto could barely see.

     But he _could_ see it. And he could see the kunai buried three inches deep in the bullseye on the target.

     "All right!" Naruto yelled, settling into the leg position and focusing intently on the center of the target. This time, he'd get it for sure.

     Itachi rested one hand on his shoulder, pushing him slightly. "Right there. Good," he said, using the other hand to draw up Naruto's throwing hand to position. "Now, eyes on the target, wrist stable, and follow through right when you stomp with your left foot. Can you do that?"

     "Yeah!" he answered, remembering the way the pivot had looked. It had been fast, but not too fast.

     Sasuke's older brother let go of his shoulders and stepped back. "Good. Throw it."

     Naruto stomped, throwing his body's weight around after his arm, releasing the kunai and following through, just like he'd seen Itachi-no-niichan do. He heard the hollow thwock of a kunai hitting the wooden target before he managed to process the sight of it quivering in the red circle second from the outside.

     "I did it!" he yelled, throwing his arms over his head. "Did you see that, Sasuke!?" Naruto turned to grin at his friend, who he found looking at the target with the kunai he'd thrown sticking out of it. Sasuke didn't look impressed.

     "Well, it's about time, isn't it?"

     Naruto stuck out his tongue, grabbed another kunai from his pouch, and settled back into position. Another throw, another kunai in his target, this time on the other side of the center, but he was sure it looked just a hair closer in.

     "Not bad, kiddo," Sasuke's brother said, messing up his hair before patting him on the head. "You two keep working on that. I'll be watching you from over here."

     This was the best kunai practice ever. No wonder Sasuke was so good! Itachi-no-niichan was _fantastic_!

~//~

     Twilight was starting to fall, and the trees darkened into the forest around them. He could have kept going. He didn't need more than the tiniest bit of light to see the targets he needed to hit, but even if his baby brother and Naruto hadn't been passed out on the ground near the basic targets, both worked into exhaustion, they shouldn't have been practicing in low light like this. They'd only develop bad habits by trying to aim for targets they couldn't see properly.

     It was all moot, though. They _were_ passed out on the ground. He'd never seen Sasuke throw so diligently in his life, and Sasuke was no slouch. And as for Naruto, he was in, throw for throw, with everything he had. By the time the two kids were too tired to stand anymore, his kunai had been grazing the center circle as well.

     Itachi walked over and started pulling the knives out of the targets. Correction. It looked like all three of the last throws Naruto had made were cleanly inside the middle. No bullseyes, but what could you expect? As it was, he'd never seen someone improve that quickly. The boy seemed to have all the right muscles already. He just lacked control, and apparently the knowledge of what he was actually supposed to be trying to do.

     He packed the kunai away into each boy's leg pouch, the two kids barely stirring as he did so.

     They were solidly asleep.

     He couldn't remember the last time he'd been able to sleep properly out in the open, with no guard on watch. And even when there was a guard on watch, he was restless. It was one of those habits you picked up in the field.

     Bringing Naruto along had been a good idea, both for the kid himself and for Sasuke. That was the most motivation he remembered ever getting out of his little brother. It'd do him good, being the number one in his class, to have someone chasing his tail. And they were pretty cute, those two. Snoring in a puppy pile, Naruto having found Sasuke's stomach to use as a pillow.

     Itachi picked them both up, slinging Naruto over one shoulder and Sasuke over the other, and started back down the path towards home. He wasn't sure where Minato-san's little boy belonged in town. He probably had an apartment, but he wasn't going to hunt all over Konoha for it when he had a perfectly good house a short walk away, and he could get supper together for when the boys woke up.

     Itachi walked up the trail that led directly to their house from the training ground, with no need to walk through the dead town of the Uchiha compound or to look at any of the empty houses. Once in the door, he headed right and turned into Sasuke's room, stepping past the fortress of building blocks on the floor to get to the bed. Turning down the covers was a little harder than usual with Naruto over his other arm, but he took care of it. First, he laid Sasuke down, and his little brother curled up like he always did. He put Naruto down right next to him, and watched the blond boy sprawl across the sheets.

     After he took off their shoes, he slipped Sasuke's dinosaur into his arms and pulled the blankets up over them both, then walked silently out of the room. The shoes went by the door, and he went to the kitchen to make dinner. Itachi added an extra scoop of rice to the two that usually were just enough for him and Sasuke, and set it on to boil. By the time it was done, he'd be able to chop enough of the dried fish in the cupboard to make Sasuke's favorite, since he'd been such a good sport all day.

     He knew it hadn't been easy for his brother to handle having someone else in their lives, but it'd be good for him.

     Itachi chopped in silence. He never heard ghosts floating around the kitchen, or anywhere else. Maybe the family knew he'd done the right thing. He finished chopping the fish with enough time to mix in soy sauce and clean everything up before the rice finished cooking. There was nothing but complete silence for a few minutes while he waited for the rice to cool and set. He walked over to his brother's room and peeked in the door. Still fast asleep. Naruto was even snoring.

     Well, they couldn't have that. Snoring was a dead giveaway of your position on a mission outside of the village. Itachi walked in with hushed footsteps and rolled Naruto onto his side, facing Sasuke. His mouth closed and he seemed to breathe easier. Before his eyes, Naruto's hand fell on Sasuke's and he, sleeping, pulled it to his chest just like Sasuke held on to his dinosaur. "You'd better let go before he wakes up, or you might get hit," Itachi whispered with a smile. They were too sweet. Softly ruffling Naruto's hair and leaving a kiss on Sasuke's forehead (he'd never know to complain), he walked out to start turning the rice into riceballs for dinner.

     He'd just set the last one on a plate when he heard Sasuke yell, "What're you doing here!?"

     "Sasuke?" a sleepy voice asked, "Why're you in my bed?"

     "It's my bed, you numbskull. And let me go!"

     Then Naruto's voice turned into an agitated scream. "Gyahh! What?! What am I doing here!?"

     "I asked you first, moron."

     The two of them rushed out of Sasuke's bedroom to the kitchen, skidding to a halt when they saw Itachi holding plates full of riceballs.

     "What's he doing here?" Sasuke asked.

     "Well, I couldn't send Naruto home without dinner," Itachi answered, placing the last two plates on the table. "A boy needs to eat."

     "I've got cup ramen at home," Naruto said.

     Itachi pulled out a chair for him. That absolutely settled it. "Cup ramen is no kind of meal to eat after you train, especially when you work as hard as you two did. Sit."

     Naruto climbed into his seat, and Sasuke pushed his plate around from his usual seat at the table to the seat next to Itachi's, scooting their chairs as close as he could.

     "Thank you, Nii-san," Sasuke said after a bite.

     "This is fantastic!" Naruto yelled. "Thank you, Itachi-no-niichan!"

     He felt Sasuke's hand grabbing the side of his leg and holding tight to his pants.

     No, this wasn't going to be easy. But it'd be worth it.

     Having the blond at the table definitely made dinner more energetic. There was no question that he'd inherited his mother's hot-blooded personality. Naruto could barely stay in his seat, he was so excited to show off his new ability to hit the target to his teacher. Sasuke stayed mostly quiet, only commenting now and again that his tests today had been easy and classwork was 'nothing'.

     "Yeah, Sasuke's always the best," Naruto said. "But just watch! I'm gonna be at the top of the class in no time! From now on, we're rivals!"

     Sasuke scoffed sullenly and swallowed a bite of rice. "Hmph. Do what you like."

     Naruto didn't pay much attention to the attempt to dismiss him. Itachi could tell he'd picked exactly the right friend for his brother, though. He'd never seen anyone, even before the Rebellion, show Sasuke a smile like that. Naruto adored his brother.

     As he should. His brother was adorable.

     While the blond stood up on his chair, gesturing with big arms to talk about the trees on the school grounds, telling them all about how he'd climbed up to the top where none of the teachers could reach him, Sasuke tugged on Itachi's sleeve.

     "What is it, Sasuke?"

     "Are we training tomorrow?" he asked. "You and me, the two of us?"

     "I'm sorry," Itachi answered, messing up Sasuke's hair to make him pout. "I have an assignment tomorrow afternoon. I won't be home until late." With a poke to the forehead, he said, "Forgive me, Sasuke. Maybe next time."

     He turned back to his food with a quiet pout and took a decisive bite that filled up his cheeks like a little chipmunk.

     "Naruto, do you need us to walk you home?" Itachi asked as the boy jumped down from his seat to the floor.

     "Nope! I just have to head towards the Hokage's tower! I know my way from there."

     "All right, then. Get home safe. We'll see you later."

     "You got it!" he said with a big grin and a thumbs-up. He ran for the door and put on his shoes. "Thanks again for dinner! I'll see you tomorrow at school, Sasuke!"

     "Bye," was all his baby brother would say, not even getting up from the table or turning around as his new friend rushed out the door.

     As soon as they heard the slam and the house went quiet again, Sasuke turned and grabbed his chest, circling it as tight as he could with two tiny arms and burying his face against Itachi's shirt.

     "Hey," Itachi whispered, wrapping his arms around his baby brother. "What's wrong?"

     It took a moment for Sasuke to answer. He just pushed his face closer to Itachi's chest, even though Itachi would have figured it wasn't possible for him to get closer.

     "Am I no good?" he asked at last, his voice muffled by the fabric of Itachi's shirt.

     "What kind of a question is that?" Itachi asked in response. He could tell that Sasuke wasn't crying. He wasn't moving, wasn't sobbing, there were no tears, but he kept holding tight. "How could you be no good? That's impossible."

     "Then why do you need Naruto?"

     He lifted Sasuke up from his chair, sitting his little brother in his lap, and immediately he started clinging again, with his head tucked under Itachi's chin. "Sasuke. You're my only little brother, you know. My irreplaceable little brother. You're everything I need."

     "Then _why_?"

     "I'm not the one who needs Naruto, Sasuke." He didn't push his little brother away, but he wanted to look in his eyes. Itachi moved the clinging child just a little so he could turn his head to the side and see his face. "See? I have you to look after, and you have me to look up to, but he doesn't have anyone. He's never had a mother or a father, and he's never had a brother. But he looks up to you. So maybe, you can be there for him the way I'm here for you. What do you say?"

     Sasuke buried his face in Itachi's shoulder, but he thought he could see the tiny crack of a smile on the side of his pout. "I guess," Sasuke said at last.

     "All right, then," Itachi replied, standing up and swinging Sasuke onto his back. "Let's get dinner cleaned up." And with Sasuke hugging his neck, he gathered up all the dishes and took them to the sink to wash.


	3. Get Your Own

     Naruto should have known better than to tap him on the shoulder. The class had just arrived at the school's target range, and what was the first thing he felt? Naruto sneaking up behind him. _Badly_. He pivoted and knocked the blond's arm out of the way like always, going for a shoulder strike with a leg sweep to knock him to the ground, but Naruto rolled in time to avoid it. He'd gotten a lot better at sparring as well as throwing kunai over the past few days -- but not good enough to win. He'd be trying to grapple, Sasuke figured, and sidestepped to where he thought he could throw his classmate and put him down.

     He'd just gotten a good grip on Naruto's t-shirt when he heard Iruka-sensei yelling, "Pack it in, boys! We're doing target practice now, not hand-to-hand."

     _Crap_, Sasuke thought. He'd reacted without thinking, and now he could hear the other students whispering. They were asking each other things like, 'Since when did those two start sparring together?' and 'No, he must have been picking a fight with Sasuke. But who would do that?' and 'Didn't it look like Naruto was doing okay?' He'd have dusted the blond in the dirt. He always did, and the murmurs from his classmates sounded like they could tell he would, but that didn't help the fact that he could have given away _everything_.

     Then everyone might have figured out that Naruto had started practicing with him and Itachi. Just because he wasn't as much of a drag as he _could_ be, didn't mean Sasuke wanted the whole class thinking he _liked_ Naruto. Or that they were friends. Or anything like that. What if _they_ decided that they could be friends, too, or that they wanted to join Naruto in crashing his private training time with his brother?

     Iruka-sensei walked over to their targets, even though they'd stopped grappling and gotten in position to throw. "Naruto," he said. "Would you join the other children at the E-rank targets? We need to get started."

     "But I have a target." Naruto pointed at the A-rank target next to the one Sasuke had claimed. A few of the other students in the top class heard him and snickered. So did some in the B-rank class, for that matter.

     Boy, were they in for a surprise.

     Iruka-sensei, too. At last week's practice, Naruto had still had trouble getting his kunai to fly forward. No way he'd believe the blond could keep up with an A-rank practice now.

     "Naruto, you know it's dangerous to throw at targets higher than your level."

     _Dangerous for the rest of the class_, Sasuke thought. If the blond threw today like he had before Itachi taught him to aim, someone down the line would get a faceful of kunai, or there might be a ricochet. D- and E-rank targets were further apart, and had more guards up to protect from wild throws, which was all Iruka-sensei had ever seen Naruto do. No one at C-rank or higher put their kunai anywhere but in the target.

     "Now, stand over there--"

     "I don't need to use the baby targets! I'm as good as Sasuke now!"

     Sasuke nearly snapped that Naruto wasn't and he knew it, but he caught himself. He wouldn't want to say something like that with all the other kids watching to see how he'd react -- and they were. Better to pretend like he hadn't even heard. It was what he would have done if he _didn't_ know that Naruto was more than good enough for the A-rank practice. If he thought Naruto had no chance of backing up anything that came out of his big mouth.

     Not that he did. But the school practices were so far below what they did with Itachi that somebody might _think_ they were even.

     When he looked up, Iruka-sensei was looking back and forth between the two of them. The teacher gave the blond one last look and answered, "All right, Naruto." He handed off a brace of kunai and stepped behind the row of targets. Every snickering girl and whispering boy who'd gathered up took about five steps back, clearing the area in case a throw went wild.

     Some of them called back, "But he can't do it!" but Iruka-sensei shushed them and took another long look at Sasuke.

     _Crap. I didn't move with the others._

     And why would he have? He knew Naruto would hit the target, not one of his classmates. At least none of the other kids had picked up on it, even if he was pretty sure the teacher had.

     "But Iruka-sensei!" one girl called out. "New level assignments aren't until next month. Why does Naruto get to do a special test and nobody else does? No fair!"

     The teacher smiled his fake grown-up smile. "Well, I'll make a special rule, just for today. If he places into a higher rank, anyone else who wants to try can do the same test. All the students who do as well as he does can move up with him."

     The grumbles in the crowd settled down to the usual chorus.

     "He can't do it, anyway."

     "Such a screw-up! Naruto's just a waste of time..."

     "You wanna bet where it'll land?"

     Sasuke took a seat on the ground in front of his own target, a few feet off from Naruto. The blond had finished tying the kunai pouch to his leg and had settled into position, wearing his serious face. The gallery'd shut up as soon as they saw his first throw, and it wasn't like Sasuke wanted to be one of them anyway.

     "Throw those five kunai, one at a time, at this target over here," Iruka-sensei told him as he tapped the target he was hiding behind, "and show me how much you've improved."

     "You got it!"

     The blond whipped the first kunai out of his pouch and sent it screaming at the target in one fluid motion. The solid thwack of metal digging into wood silenced the crowd of students and left their teacher looking stunned. They'd been expecting it to drop on the ground somewhere, for sure, or maybe clatter against another target. Even if Iruka-sensei had read Sasuke and figured Naruto could make his own target, he hadn't been expecting a bulls-eye.

     When the teacher heard the sound and felt the target shake, he looked down and blinked at the knife sticking out, dead center. That wasn't just a bulls-eye. It was smack-dab in the _middle_ of the bulls-eye. "Wait, Naruto," Iruka-sensei said. He waved for Naruto to hold before he could draw another kunai.

     If C-rank was always hitting the target, and B-rank was usually getting it in the center spot, A-rank meant real pin-point aiming. You could knock the first kunai on the base if you really wanted to, but it wasn't going to split like an arrow. Better to practice throwing a spread. So it looked like Iruka-sensei planned to give Naruto the real A-rank test after all.

     "Second ring, five o'clock."

     The class didn't even have time to finish gasping at Naruto pulling his second kunai without a word or any hesitation. The shot landed perfectly with another thwack, right where Iruka-sensei had called it, and the gasp died with a choke in their collective throats.

     "Third ring, eleven o'clock."

     Dead on, again. So far, he himself was the only one in the class with a perfect record, but it didn't matter so much if Naruto could hit all five once. Not really. Lots of people could do it once.

     Well, maybe not lots, but a few.

     "Fourth ring, nine o'clock."

     One more time, the kunai hit home, buried an inch into the white stripe on the outside of the target.

     "Line. Second ring to third ring, three o'clock," Iruka-sensei told him quietly for his fifth and final shot. Naruto did as he was told. The kunai drove into the target, and somewhere a girl squealed and clapped wildly.

     The whispering picked up in the crowd again, but this time there was less mockery and more people asking, "What the _hell_?"

     Iruka-sensei waved to the class to quiet down and pulled the kunai out of the target. "Well done, Naruto. I think everyone will agree that you should be practicing at A-rank today. Now, if there's anyone who thinks they can do the same, please raise your hands."

     Four of the students from B-rank put their hands up. Nobody else.

     "All right, wait for me by the targets on the left. Everyone else, go to your positions and start your warm-ups!"

     _Well, that's over_, Sasuke thought. The crowd dispersed, still muttering, and he stood up and brushed off his pants. Now they could actually start class. All the other kids in A-rank had stepped into position and started warming up -- except for Yamanaka Ino, who was taking her time buckling her kunai holster. She'd nabbed the spot next to him, _again_. Hopefully, she wouldn't try to talk to him today. Girls always thought he cared about their _hair_, for some reason.

     Iruka-sensei knelt down to look Naruto in the eye. "That was really excellent," he said with a smile. "You must have been practicing."

     "Just a little!" the blond laughed. He looked far too proud of himself for something as simple as getting five kunai in a target. Besides, nobody knew it was because Itachi had helped him. With his brother's help, even a dunce could get a perfect score. It wasn't _that_ cool.

     Not that _he_ was good just because Itachi trained with him. He had talent. Itachi'd told him so.

     "Well, I look forward to seeing that hard work in class." Iruka-sensei stood up and ruffled Naruto's hair. "Take your position," he said, walking off toward the targets where the other four students were testing.

     As soon as the teacher had left, Ino jumped in front of his target to squeal at Naruto. "Oh my _god_, where did you learn to do that?! Like, two days ago you couldn't even hit the side of the school!"

     Naruto jumped back. "Huh?!" That was fair. Ino could startle you the first couple times she jumped in your personal space.

     "Oi," Sasuke broke into the conversation before the blond could spill how he'd weaseled his way into after-school practice with his brother. "What's this about throwing as well as I can, moron?"

     "Didn't you see that, Sasuke?" Naruto grinned and pointed to the target. "I totally aced it!"

     "You've still got a long way to go before you're as good as me."

     Ino had gone into silent fawning mode, not nearly as upset about getting cut off as she should have been. She kept looking back and forth between him and Naruto with inexplicable glee. Hinata was a couple targets down, blushing and staring like an idiot, while Shikamaru stood on the other side of Naruto, eyeing the target for any sign that he could have faked it.

     "Hey, Naruto!" Kiba called out from the B-rank targets. "Where'd you pick that up, anyway?"

     "Somebody must have taught you, right?" asked Shikamaru.

     Bunch of busybodies.

     "What does it matter?" Sasuke interrupted before Naruto could think of an answer. He'd been going to snap something about how that test had been no big deal, but the blond caught his eye with a smile as big as the moon. After three days of training together, the way his blue eyes flashed still threw Sasuke off. He'd always been annoying, but that was just _weird_. Why did Naruto smile at him that way? He used to be such a jerk all the time.

     Sasuke sniffed and rolled his eyes. Naruto was _still_ a jerk. Just the jerk that he was going to look out for (at least a little) when he did something idiotic like show off in front of the whole class and nearly get their secret practices found out. He'd told Itachi he would.

     So he drew one of his kunai and held it out to Naruto. "If you think you're as good as me, why don't you prove it?"

     "You're on!" The blond jumped over and punched his fist. That was weird, too, but he had to swallow a grin when he saw Naruto smile. After all, Sasuke knew that nailing points on a target was the least of the progress he'd made. It was fun, he guessed, having practice together.

     Not that he wanted anyone else to know. Itachi was _his_ brother, and Naruto was _his_... person-he-didn't-like... And it wasn't any of their business, and he couldn't even start his warm-up with Ino's _head_ in his way. It was against school rules to throw knives at the other kids when they weren't looking.

     Also, his brother might be sad if he didn't get along with the students in his class. They were all meant to be Konoha shinobi together someday.

     "Do you mind?" Sasuke asked, and stepped into throwing position in front of the target next to Naruto's.

     "Huh?" Ino blinked when she noticed Sasuke move in on where she was standing. "Oh, no problem!" she said, turning giggly, then yelled "Move it!" at Shikamaru and stole the next post over.

     Naruto caught his eye and smiled. Again.

     What the hell was with that moron?

     And why did everyone _else_ want to talk to him now? He was the same old Naruto, whether he could hit a mark or not. Sasuke knew that. Couldn't they just find an idiot that his brother _hadn't_ invited home and decide to like _him_?

 

~//~

 

     Normally, he'd have been out the door as soon as the clock hit three. He hadn't counted on the other kids being as pushy as they were, trying to find out where he'd learned to throw that well, that fast. Every time he'd wanted to go talk to Sasuke, one of them had been there to block him with questions, and now that they were trying to leave for the day, _all_ of them were between him and his friend. Sasuke was already putting on his shoes at the door. If he got too far ahead, Naruto wouldn't have a chance to ask if they could hang out -- well, _train_ \-- today, even though Itachi-no-niichan was on a mission.

     Naruto laughed nervously as yet more students crowded around. "It's really not a big deal."

     Over by the door, he saw Sasuke look over at their conversation with his cool, calm stare. He didn't seem to want people knowing about Itachi-no-niichan, so Naruto hadn't mentioned.

     It was just their secret. His and Sasuke's.

     "C'mon! You can tell us," Hibachi whined. "We won't tell Iruka-sensei!"

     "Why would I care if you told Iruka-sensei?"

     One of the girls, Magari, leaned over to squeal at Ino, "He must have started taking lessons from a scary jounin, right?! Oh, I wonder who it could be. Do you know anybody like that?"

     Sakura-chan was standing with them, peeking out from behind Magari's ponytail. She wasn't going crazy like the rest of the class. She just watched, and sometimes turned to look at Sasuke with her mouth scrunched up like she was thinking. Shikamaru had the same look, but Sakura-chan was cuter than Shikamaru.

     When he grinned at her, the girl's face twitched. After a second, her expression kind of turned into a smile.

     _I bet she totally thinks I'm cool!_ Naruto couldn't help laughing to himself, hearing the crowd as they went on about what 'scary jounin' might have given him a lesson. They were all _so_ wrong.

     Meanwhile, Sasuke scowled at him from the doorway. He'd been quieter and pissier than usual today, ever since they'd finished kunai practice. Naruto had no clue why, and he couldn't find out -- not with everyone jumping him to ask questions. He couldn't have been mad about class practice, right? Sasuke had gotten 100%, like always, and he'd only tied for third with 97%. Sasuke wouldn't have been mad about that unless he'd _lost_.

     Well, he'd find out, though. As long as Sasuke wasn't so mad he left before Naruto could catch up. And if he _was_, Naruto could just follow after him, and if Sasuke told him to go away...

     Then he'd ask, "_What for?_" and they could go somewhere anyway! It was an absolutely no-fail plan. As long as he could get away from the other students and follow Sasuke home, he'd be _golden_. His first chance to hang out just with Sasuke! How awesome was that?

     Magari pulled on his sleeve. "Oh, come on! Who is it? Who's the scary jounin?"

     How was he supposed to answer that?

     "There's no scary jounin!" he said. "A nice guy just told me a couple things I was doing wrong, and I practiced a lot."

     Over by the door, he thought he might have seen Sasuke smile for half a second.

     And was he still putting on his shoes? No, they were already on, and he was just sitting there. But Sasuke never dawdled.

     Suddenly, Naruto's whole day brightened up by about ten times. Sasuke was totally _waiting_ for him! Talk about freakin' _bad-ass_! Maybe he could even have a sleepover at Sasuke's place and they could hang out all weekend! He smiled at his friend, who cleared off his happy expression and switched to his default annoyed face.

     One kid off to the side -- sounded like Teppan -- called out, "Hey, Naruto, we're going to the dango place after school. You want in?"

     "Huh?" He turned to look at the student who'd asked. It was Teppan, all right. He wasn't quite sure what to say, since Sasuke was waiting for him (he was certain), but their training was supposed to be a secret (so he couldn't say anything). Getting invited out by other classmates wasn't something he'd expected. "Well, I... ah..."

     "Oi, moron." Sasuke was standing in the doorway now, and he looked seriously pissed. The whole room went quiet. "Are you coming or not?"

     How could he say no to that? "I'll be right there!" he yelled, then turned to Teppan to say, "Sorry. Maybe some other time." The crowd parted in front of him when he ran over (nobody messed with Sasuke) and he put on his shoes in record time. All the kids had started whispering again, but it didn't matter. All that mattered was figuring out what kind of training they were going to do, just the two of them.

     Sasuke scoffed and walked out the door as soon as Naruto had his second shoe halfway on. He was way too cool.

     _Someday, I'll be that awesome_, Naruto thought. _Or awesomer_! He dashed out after his friend, barely noticing the sun warming his head and shoulders. "Hey, Sasuke! Can I stay over at your place tonight?"

     "I guess. _Why?_"

     "Just 'cause." His apartment was all right, but it was empty. "So, what d'ya think? Sakura-chan's pretty cute, isn't she?"

     Sasuke's face scrunched up like he'd smelled something sour. "If you like _pink_." He glanced at Naruto and bit his lip. "Race you."

     "Hey, wait up!" Before Naruto could answer or either of them could think about counting to three, Sasuke had dashed off down the road at top speed. Naruto tore off after him, of course. What else was he going to do?

 

~//~

 

     "So, I don't suppose you've seen him for lessons outside of school?"

     Iruka had started working his way through the faculty looking for Naruto's mystery teacher, starting with Masugu, the chuunin who headed the Projectiles department. He certainly didn't seem to be the 'nice guy' to whom his student had attributed that little miracle.

     "If Naruto won't come to remedial classes when they're held, why should I go out of my way to train him? He's useless. Honestly, I wouldn't even have taken the time out of class to test him."

     Of course, not doing the test was a perfectly sensible stance, Iruka supposed -- from someone who hadn't had the Third Hokage asking leading questions about whether Naruto and Sasuke were getting on any better, and who hadn't then seen the youngest Uchiha gravitating toward the blond terror in every class (and vice versa). There was no question they were spending time together. He never would have imagined those two would be friends. Most of the class was certain Sasuke was the one who'd taught him. The boy had talent, without question, but it couldn't have been that simple. It would have taken more than personal talent to completely rework someone's technique. Still, Sasuke had definitely _known_ what Naruto could do.

     "I had a hunch," Iruka told him. "Besides, you'd be surprised. Naruto did an excellent job in practice today."

     The older ninja chewed on his pencil and shook his head. "But moving him up to A-rank so quickly? Could have been a fluke."

     Iruka pulled the grading sheet for today's session out of his book and laid it on Masugu's desk. "973 hits out of 1000 throws is no fluke. Naruto's found a very able instructor. If it wasn't you, do you have any idea who it is?"

     "No-one on staff could have gotten this kind of result from the kid, or we'd have done it already." The other teacher stared at the results on the page, his face contorted with a certain measure of entirely justifiable disbelief. Next to the records from the week before, it was like watching an entirely different person throw. "If I didn't know better, I'd say he'd been faking incompetence before. Messing around."

     "Well, he _was_ messing around, to be sure, but we both know he wasn't faking." Iruka took the paper back and sorted it into his pile. "You don't need to see his grades in Subterfuge to know he couldn't have pulled _that_. It was obvious he was trying."

     Masugu sighed. "I know. But any members of the faculty definitely would have been bragging in the teacher's lounge if they'd been responsible for this. And as far as the jounin teachers go, I don't know what to tell you. 'Nice' isn't the word I'd use for most of them."

     The worst part was the way the Third Hokage had brushed off all those questions about Naruto and Sasuke the other day. Iruka was certain the Hokage knew something, and just as certain that he wouldn't divulge what he knew. He'd have to figure this out on his own. "I'll talk to anyone with the skills," he said. "I'm sure any shinobi would seem nice to the eight-year-old boy he was teaching how to throw a knife."

     "Well, it's not Guy. Everyone would know if Guy had taken an interest. Kakashi doesn't take on students, and they're pretty much the best." Masugu drummed his fingers on the desk and frowned. "Of the other jounin teachers who are even approachable, I'd start with Ebisu. He's worked some real miracles with trouble kids in the past. After that, Anko's got the best technique by far. Next best is probably Asuma."

     "Thanks."

     Maybe, even if none of those three were the mystery teacher, one of them had heard something. It was worth a shot.


	4. Gold Star

     "Did not."

     "Did too!"

     Naruto huffed, watching Sasuke bite off some fish and say, "Did _not_."

     "I did too!" he grunted.

     Across the table, Itachi-no-niichan smiled same as always, quiet and almost-not-smiling but just looking kind of happy. He hadn't even been mad when he came back from his mission and found out Naruto's babysitter ninja had come here to check on him when Naruto hadn't been at home. They'd tried poking their noses around, too, saying they wanted to make sure the place was 'safe' (as if Itachi-no-niichan would have things be 'not safe'! He was too badass for that!), but Sasuke'd been _awesome_ and told them they knew they needed a writ from the Hokage to go searching stuff in his house. Naruto'd been ready to to blow 'em a raspberry and go run off with them chasing like always, but Sasuke'd took his hand instead, and said the babysitters'd better call the Hokage right now if they didn't like something, and the babysitter ninja had said to watch out for next time, but they'd still left.

     Sasuke was cool like that, and Itachi-no-niichan had bought them ice cream again when he heard about it. But right now, Sasuke was just wrong about stuff.

     Naruto told him, too. "I did _too_ make a clone. And it even stood up for ten seconds!"

     "Propping it against the wall doesn't count."

     "I'll show you what doesn't count!"

     Easy for Sasuke to talk when he was best at everything. But not for long! Naruto stacked the rest of his fish and rice and packed it into a ball he could eat while he trained. He'd have a clone before he left tonight -- he'd show Sasuke, and Itachi-no-niichan, too, and tomorrow he'd send his clone to class and Iruka-sensei wouldn't even know the difference!

     But before he could leave the table, Itachi-no-niichan zipped behind him, and pushed him back into the chair. "No eating and training at the same time. Splitting your attention is a bad habit. What's our rule?"

     Naruto swallowed his bite and pouted. "Do one thing, and do your best."

     "Okay, then. Did the teacher give you a grade sheet?"

     Grumbling, Naruto reached into his pocket for the crumpled paper. He used to throw them out before he left the classroom, but then Iruka-sensei started tacking them to his door at home with all the things he needed to work on circled in red. It wasn't like "Practice chakra control" or "Improve focus on projected image" made any more sense in his apartment than they did in the classroom. And "Remember your breathing" didn't make any sense at all! If he forgot to breathe, he'd be dead! How could he not be breathing?!

     But that was school for you. Always talking about stupid stuff like putting air in your lungs.

     Though now he was taking his grade sheets, sometimes Iruka-sensei left other things on his door -- like notes that said, "I'll treat you to Ichiraku Ramen if you tell me Monday about one thing you learned doing your homework this weekend." That was okay, he guessed.

     He always had to come up with a different thing he'd learned, but there was way too much stuff to know anyway, so that was easy.

     Itachi-no-niichan seemed to think the grade sheet was more than words, though. He smiled again when he looked it over. "This is good, Naruto. Your jutsu is improving."

     "What? Where does it say that?!"

     "Your teacher drew a happy face."

     As Itachi-no-niichan turned the paper around, Sasuke and Naruto both leaned in to see. Sure enough, there was a smiley face next to where it said, 'Created a human figure with all proper limbs, visually similar to self,' before it said, 'Still lacks vitality and expression'.

     Naruto didn't know those words, but Iruka-sensei said he'd get better marks when he made the clone stand up, so that had to be part of it.

     Sasuke sniffed and went back to his dinner. "Well, I guess Iruka-sensei only does that when you're doing better. Still, it's not like you could've done _worse_."

     But Naruto's eyes were frozen on the curves and dots in the corner of the paper. He'd seen them before, but he'd never known why they were there. He could see with his own eyes how much better the other kids did, and how his clones looked bad. He thought 'bad' was all they were. Iruka-sensei had been saying they were a little bit good? That's what he meant by smiling? But smiles were what grown-ups did when they were pretending they weren't upset.

     When adults smiled, it always had that painful look behind it like they wanted to yell, but had to Keep Their Tempers -- except Itachi-no-niichan. His smiles were little, not so big and shiny as the rest. But Iruka-sensei...

     Iruka-sensei wasn't like the others?

     Well, he knew that. He totally knew that. Iruka-sensei was the only one who bought him ramen or said things to his face instead of behind his back. But--

     Warm streams ran down his face, teardrops falling to his knees, and Naruto realized he was sobbing. The world was getting blurry. Everything felt dizzy. He dragged a breath in and pulled his shirt up to his eyes, trying to hold the crying in, but it shook its way out anyway. When Itachi-no-niichan mussed his hair, he looked up, and he didn't know if he'd ever be able to stop.

     "It's okay, Naruto."

     Sasuke was sitting frozen, with his eyes bugged out of his skull, chopsticks and rice half in his mouth. Naruto wanted to say he was fine, but the stupid crying got in the way.

     He tried smiling instead. Then Sasuke handed him a napkin so he could blow his nose.

     Naruto lunged full-tilt into Sasuke's shoulder, holding on as hard as he could.

     "What're you doing, moron?" his friend growled, though he grabbed onto Naruto's back instead of pushing him away.

     "D-dunno..."

     "Well, don't do it again."

     Itachi-no-niichan patted both their heads, saying, "Yours, too, Sasuke. How did you do?"

     "All right, I guess."

     Liar. He'd made two clones, and they were perfect. Sasuke was the best. That was probably exactly what Itachi-no-niichan was reading off the paper Sasuke handed him, because it's was true and all.

     As Itachi-no-niichan poked Sasuke in the forehead, both of 'em got the family-only look Naruto'd never seen up close before this month. "I'm very proud of you, Sasuke. Keep up the good work. Let's put these up, shall we?"

     Slow to leave the warmth of hugging his friend, Naruto turned his eyes to the wall. Next to the pinboard where Sasuke's grades and tests hung on the wall, there was a new pinboard he hadn't even noticed when he'd come in. And Itachi-no-niichan was tacking his grade paper to it! His very own!

     "I get a _board_?!"

     "You're not gonna cry again, are you?" Sasuke asked.

     "Hell no!"

     This was awesome! Drying his face with his shirt, Naruto ran over to the wall, too, with Sasuke strolling behind.

     Itachi-no-niichan pinned it in the upper right corner, with a yellow pin right through the top!

     "This way we can see how you're improving over your old work," he said, "and what to practice when we train."

     "Really?! We're gonna make the teachers think I can do stuff?! Man, I am ready to _rock_!"

     Sasuke scoffed and shoved him. But the nice way.

     While Itachi-no-niichan stuck Sasuke's grades in line on Sasuke's mostly-full board, he pulled a second paper off the back of the grade sheet. "Parent-Teacher conferences are next week? I'll be home from my next mission in time for yours, I think, Sasuke. Naruto, didn't yours come with a scheduling notice?"

     "Oh, I don't got one," he answered, grinning up at his grade paper on the pinboard so wide, his cheeks hurt -- but he couldn't stop. "Only kids with families get those. Say, can I come over again for another sleepover later?"

     For a second, Sasuke's older brother was extra quiet, while Sasuke grabbed Naruto's arm tighter. Maybe Itachi-no-niichan was gonna say no, after the way the babysitter ninja came in last time. But then he knelt down to look them in the eye, and he didn't look mad. Just quiet.

     "Okay, Naruto. Now, if you come over here, do you think you can manage a clone to stay at your house that'll fool the people who check on you, or do you want me to write a illusion tag?"

     "I... umm." He didn't need to think long to know his clones'd never fool the babysitters. Thinking of it that way made clones seem a lot less stupid than just schoolwork. "I think maybe... I can't do that. Yet."

     "Then let's make that your first goal. And yes, you can stay over as long as you get an illusion tag from me first."

~//~

     The Academy building was brighter and smaller-looking than Itachi remembered from his few years here -- years that'd been over around the same time Sasuke had been born. He could sense the 'concerned citizens' who'd been following him, the traitor Uchiha, since he entered the building. No doubt the same people who'd tried to nose around the Uchiha compound on the pretense of checking on Naruto. But, if they wanted to report to the Hokage that he was visiting a school teacher, they were free to do so.

     He believed with his soul in what the village of Konoha could be. It was too bad so many villagers only seemed to believe with their mouths. He understood why the rest of his family had chosen as they did, but if the cycle of vengeance could stop, it would stop with him. His brother would live free of that, even if he had to clear the path with his own hands.

     Itachi counted the numbers above the rooms until he found his brother's homeroom and knocked on the door, just in time. Iruka-san was packing up for the day. The teacher jumped three inches and did a doubletake at his gradebook.

     "I-Itachi-san? I... But Sasuke-kun's conference isn't until Thursday..."

     "I know." He widened his eyes so Iruka-san could see his Syaringan wasn't armed. With most chuunin, he'd curve his lip in a grim smile to make them quail, but he needed this one to stay and talk. "I wanted to have a word with you about Naruto, if I could."

     Offering a chair, the teacher went from petrified to embarrassed, rubbing the back of his neck with a wince. "I'm sorry, if he's been bothering you, please let me have a chat with him before you--" Blinking, Iruka-san backed up a step. "Oh. _Oh._ You... You're the Nice Guy. You are, aren't you? I... never..."

     "I beg your pardon?"

     Iruka-san studied him as if he were seeing him for the first time. "Are you the jounin who's been giving Naruto special lessons?"

     Itachi frowned. He hadn't come here to be subtle, so he might as well get to the point. "Naruto was eager to learn, just not to do it at school. He thinks most of the teachers hate him and pretend he doesn't exist. I'm not surprised at the problems he was having if that's the case." It was too easy to see how Sasuke could have been the same if there'd been no one for him since before he could crawl.

     This teacher's lip flared, as if he were planning to explain that _he_ wasn't guilty. Then his whole frame shrank as he took his own chair. "Naruto sees more than they think he does. He deserves better than that." The man nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw Itachi stop frowning, but he pulled himself together admirably. "I want to thank you for helping him. I give him as much direction as I can in class--"

     "But if you spend too much time on him, it's not fair to the other students. I'm sure the parents would complain as well."

     One of the first things he'd learned from Inoichi-sensei about interrogations was that, if at all possible, you should give your subject a reason to consider you an ally. Then, make them very uncomfortable, and make the act of telling the truth the thing that would make the discomfort disappear. The mind would find a reason for a person to do what he wanted to do, while extracting intelligence from someone who wanted not to divulge it was much harder.

     There was no doubt in Itachi's mind that he had the necessary tools to make Iruka-san very uncomfortable when the time came, and if he'd judged the man correctly, there'd be no problem convincing the teacher that the two of them were on the same side in this. Itachi was prepared to reserve judgment until after their talk, but Naruto had made it clear that _this_ teacher did honestly try to teach him.

     "I... that's..."

     Iruka-san gulped. No doubt he'd heard the same whispers Itachi had heard from people wondering why Naruto was allowed in the school at all. Too easy again to hear Sasuke's name instead. Sometimes, Itachi thought he did.

     As Itachi let the silence linger, the teacher nodded and said, "I'm sure that's true. And outside of class... half the time, he still runs when he sees me. It's getting better, though."

     Sitting forward in his chair, never breaking eye contact with his subject, Itachi told him, "Once Naruto has more positive experiences in the classroom, he probably won't run at all."

     "I... I hope so. I like Naruto. He reminds me of myself at his age." Iruka-san let out a nervous laugh. "He's a good kid. He really is."

     "I'd like you to tell me more about how he's doing in all his subjects."

     The teacher's frown was a better sign than it could have been. Iruka-san wasn't going to answer yet, but he wanted a reason to. "I'm sorry, Itachi-san. I can only share that information with his parent or his legal guardian. A student's record is private."

     "I wasn't aware that Naruto had a legal guardian. Is one of the village's caretakers designated to review his progress?"

     "Well... the, ah... actually, the Hokage... He looks at Naruto's grades himself. He doesn't leave that to anyone else, given..."

     The howls of the Nine-Tailed fox were heavy in the silence over the teacher's desk. Unsurprisingly, Iruka-san was reluctant to admit that too many ninja hated Naruto.

     So Itachi offered him a way out. "... Given that he's Minato and Kushina's son."

     The teacher answered with a grateful wince. "I never knew the Fourth personally."

     "I only worked with him a few times in the war, but he made an impression." The discomfort Itachi was looking for started to creep into Iruka-san's face. "It's a relief to hear that the Hokage is so invested. But I'm not sure that makes him family."

     "Be that as it may, Itachi-san... and with all due respect -- I'm glad you've taken an interest in Naruto's education, I really am, and I'm glad he's getting along so well with Sasuke-kun these past couple weeks -- but you're not Naruto's family either. I can't share private information with you simply because you did him a favor. Now, if you'd like to discuss Sasuke-kun, I can--"

     "I'd like nothing better than to discuss Sasuke, either along with hearing about Naruto or during our scheduled appointment."

     Itachi weighed the shock frozen on Iruka-san's face against the sweat beading on the teacher's forehead, letting the pressure of silence bear down. Once he saw Iruka-san start to form a statement to deflect him, Itachi cut him off.

     "Iruka-san. Before I killed my parents..." he said, calmly, with his hands clasped on the desk to seem as unthreatening as he could. He saw the rush of panic in the teacher's eyes. He'd succeeded. "... After I dropped their squadron from the Hokage's window, my father said, 'You've chosen a path with more suffering than ours. I will always be proud of you. Please take care of Sasuke.' Those were his last words. Hearing him say that, I loved him more than I can explain."

     He'd cried when he told Sasuke. He had no intention of crying now, and kept his face blank while the school teacher struggled to do the same.

     "... I loved him for that, even though it took me standing with a sword to his neck for him to say it. I'd pushed myself all my life to maintain his approval, even when I hated everything he stood for; and as much as I hated the feeling that I couldn't fool him forever, and someday he'd realize I wasn't what he wanted me to be, I hated even more seeing my little brother chase that approval, full of the fear that he'd never be good enough. That day, I wasn't what he expected of his son, but he could still be proud of me for making a choice I believed in and putting my best into that choice. Learning to raise my brother may be something I struggle with every day, but I'm grateful for what I learned from my father when I ran him through. I tell Sasuke every day that I'm proud of him no matter what, and I want him to do his best. I know that's right. So when I look at Naruto, I can't help wondering... Who says that to him? If it's not supposed to be me, who is it? If you can't tell me about Naruto's school record, I want you to tell me who else wants to see him succeed, because that's the person I want to talk to."

     Iruka-san was silent at first, frozen in his chair and barely breathing. Slowly, the man unclenched his fists from the edge of his desk. Under Itachi's constant gaze, he straightened his spine. The first sound he attempted came out like a hinge that needed to be oiled. The second sound did slightly better.

     "I-Itachi-san..." the teacher squeaked, with shell-shocked eyes that looked ready to talk. "I... not as his teacher, but as someone who looks out for Naruto... I think... I can tell you what you need to know."

     The mind made its own reasons.

~//~

     Saying goodbye to Uchiha Itachi, Iruka could feel the life flowing back into his body. The man looked so young, barely older than their graduating class, but his aura and those somber eyes had filled the air like lead. Iruka had barely been able to breathe. There was still light outside the window, so their discussion about Naruto and Sasuke couldn't have gone more than an hour, but it'd felt like an eternity.

     _That_ was Naruto's Nice Guy?!

     Still... even if he felt like hiding behind a closed door until his heart stopped pounding, then racing to the Hokage's office to ask why the hell the Third hadn't explained that the Uchiha had taken Naruto under his wing (he'd be damned if he'd believe the Third and old man Danzou hadn't known)... Itachi-san had sounded so... sincere. Iruka was sure, if someone like Itachi-san had shown an interest in him after his parents had died, he would've thought a man like that was the nicest guy in the world.

     Here he'd thought, as a rookie teacher, he was too young to understand how to raise kids. Despite knowing everything he'd wished for when he was a child, being the one responsible made everything unrecognizable and strange. Now, here was someone four years younger than him, almost a child himself, putting words to all the things Iruka had thought he himself was too inexperienced to say.

     He was so lost in thought, he almost didn't step back in time when the head teacher shot through the door, thick jaw set in a grimace.

     "Iruka-kun?!"

     "Kiritsu-sensei!" he answered, snapping into a salute.

     "It's all right, he's gone. I have agents from the PTA tailing the Uchiha into town."

     "Following... Itachi-san?"

     That sounded neither safe nor feasible. Nor necessary, Iruka thought, for someone who'd just come for a conference. But the older man nodded as if it made perfect sense.

     "Good work keeping him here so long. I didn't think you had it in you to stand up against one of his kind. But thanks to that, someone should be in with the Hokage now, telling them what happened. Who would've thought it was the Uchiha cozying up to the damned fox boy? He's trying to unleash the demon again, I've got no doubt."

     Hearing the head teacher call Naruto that sent a chill down Iruka's spine, worse than the one he'd felt when Uchiha Itachi had walked into his classroom. He knew he'd heard everyone on staff say it before, but now it was like his ears had been wrenched open. The sound of it made him sick. Maybe Itachi-san was right, and Naruto really didn't have any allies here.

     Except him.

     Iruka had been on enough Naruto Watch missions to see how this would go -- the missions most other chuunin liked to call "Fox Hunts" when the Hokage wasn't around. He knew what was next, and what he had to do.

     "Kiritsu-sensei, does anyone know if Naruto is in his apartment?"

     "He's not. We've got people scouring the streets so we can lock him down until this is over. If you know where to find him, do it fast. I expect the Third to call you within the hour to report on everything the Uchiha wanted to know."

     "Y-yes, sir."

     With barely a nod for pleasantries, he was out the door, running with every ounce of strength he could muster for a particular grove in the back hills, in the shadow of the Fourth Hokage's image carved into the mountainside. If only Naruto knew how appropriate his favorite hiding place was.

     "Naruto!" he whispered at a mediocre camouflage jutsu, with illusory leaves that were too big and too yellow for the brush he was in. When the clump of leaves started inching away, he hissed, "Don't run! I'm here to help, Naruto," but kept his voice low so no one else could hear.

     Naruto's clump of leaves stopped moving. That was a start.

     "Stay right where you are. A patrol's coming through." He thought he heard a tiny sob over the hushed sounds of ninja footsteps. "Quiet, now. You're a ninja in training, aren't you?"

     Iruka stood in front of Naruto's camouflage as two chuunin came by to check this sector.

     "Have you seen him?" they asked.

     He shook his head. "This area's clear. I'll head in to report."

     They ran for the next sector, leaving Iruka wondering what had gotten into him, that he was lying to the other ninja on patrol. His head hadn't felt right since this whole mess had started. Once he got Naruto settled, he was going to go straight to the Hokage and tell the truth, confess he'd hidden Naruto -- no waiting to be summoned. The Third had to have some piece of wisdom that'd stop all the confusion running around in his brain, so he'd know what was right.

     Tiny hands gripped his pants at the knee. Iruka looked down at wide blue eyes, rimmed in red and sloppy with tears. "Iruka-sensei?"

     He sat down, letting Naruto barrel into his chest, drying his tears. "I'm here, Naruto."

     "They said they were gonna keep me away from Itachi-no-niichan. I don't wanna stay away from Itachi-no-niichan! I don't wanna stay away from Sasuke! I don't wanna!"

     "Shh. It's okay. I'm going to talk to the Hokage, Naruto. I'm going to talk to the Hokage, and I'll tell him that for you. Now, do you think you can get to Itachi-san's house on your own?"

     As much as he never thought he'd say that, Iruka was sure Naruto would feel more secure there than he would anywhere else in the village. And it had to be safe. No matter what the head teacher thought, he trusted his own impressions about Itachi-san. Kiritsu-sensei didn't see Sasuke and Naruto in class every day. Kiritsu-sensei hadn't looked into Itachi-san's eyes when he'd said how much he loved his brother, and worried for Naruto.

     But Naruto shook his head into Iruka's shoulder like he wasn't going to move.

     "I don't want to bring the babysitter ninjas to Sasuke's house again. They'll be trouble."

     "Naruto..."

     "I don't want Sasuke to stop being friends with me! Because-- because I'm--"

     "Now listen, Naruto." The tiny blond rubbed his fists in his eyes and blinked back in silence. "If Sasuke were in trouble, would you stop being friends because he needed help?"

     "Never!"

     "So go to Itachi-san's house, tell him what's the matter, and I'm sure he'll let you stay there until I can ask Lord Hokage what to do. Can you do that?"

     Naruto nodded. He looked like he could run now, and he knew the village's search patterns as well as any of the adults. Iruka had no doubt he'd make it.

     "Atta boy."

     "Iruka-sensei..." Naruto gripped his sleeve. The sun was starting to set, but his eyes were still clear blue, even though he'd been crying. "Why're you being so nice all of a sudden?"

     Iruka rested his hand on Naruto's cheek, looking for the words. It felt just as warm as any child's. "Because you're an excellent student, Naruto. I want to see you work hard and become an excellent ninja." His little face brightened like Iruka had never seen anywhere outside of a ramen stand. "But that doesn't mean I'll go easy on you in class! It means I expect you to do your best. Got it, Naruto?"

     "I'll be number one -- you know it!"

     "All right, then. Now run."


	5. Peek-a-Boo

     Naruto crouched in the shadow of a chimney pipe. Chimney shadows were the easiest illusions, 'cause they were basically dark and that was it. Once the patrols were out of sight again, he dropped to a ledge and raced toward the wall of the Uchiha compound.

     Almost there. Just a little further...

     "Any sign yet?"

     Pressing against the wall, Naruto made another shadow illusion, just in time to see two chuunin walk into view below. One said to the other, "If the chasers don't catch him, the sweeps will. I heard they've cleared the perimeter."

     They didn't usually bother with sweeps for him -- only when he was in real trouble, which Naruto guessed this was. If he didn't move fast, they'd have guards up on the walls around the Uchiha houses, and he'd never get in without them seeing. He could hide from one or two people who didn't think he had any skills (since they couldn't look every way at once), but the sweep patrols'd have at least four people per group, and they'd leave guards behind 'em when they cleared an area. He'd never gotten past a sweep yet.

     He made double sure he was breathing and focused as hard as he could on a rooftop two streets over. The clone that popped up there wasn't good -- it flopped over like jelly, and he couldn't tell if it was even made right -- but it was enough to make the ninjas below him look. Naruto threw his voice in the same direction, making the words, "Oh, crap!" echo back like his clone had said 'em (before it puffed out of view). If he was lucky, that'd be the break he needed.

     They ran.

     He ran.

     The leap from the ledge to the Uchiha wall was the last problem, putting him out in the open for a whole second, but if he could make that--

     "There he is! He's headed over the wall!"

     Hissing under his breath, Naruto botched the landing and tumbled into the dirt. He barely had time to make another shadow disguise, blending into the darkness stretching off the base of the wall, before a squad appeared over his head. Shadows like that were great if you could find 'em. They let you inch along without anyone being able to see you move, and Naruto inched for all his life was worth.

     "No footprints."

     "Two of you, check the wall and the surrounding trees. I want two more on guard here in case he doubles back. And you, you're with me. We know where he's headed."

     "On it!"

     No way he could inch fast enough to get away from that. The two ninjas checking the wall for illusions were fanning out from where he'd dropped, and the one headed his way would be on him in seconds. Ditching the shadow disguise as he bolted from the wall, Naruto leapt straight at the ninja's feet (the crappiest angle for catching people -- he'd tested -- and most of the time you could knock 'em off balance, too).

     "Hey! _Naruto!_"

     From a sprint, he rolled through a kid-sized hole in the tripwires Itachi-no-niichan had strung at the edge of the forest. Even if they were stupid enough to follow him, he could dodge these traps faster than they could, since he knew where they all were, and the ninja chasing him had no clue. He'd have more cover, too.

     "Don't," the second ninja said, holding back the first. "The whole thing's probably booby-trapped. We have the wall guarded. Let's rendezvous with the others."

     Naruto let out a sigh. He tried to make his heart stop hammering, but it didn't work. Sure, they'd said they wouldn't follow him in, but that didn't mean they'd keep out the whole way. He put on another shadow disguise to run along a rock ledge, keeping an eye and an ear out the whole time as he headed towards the houses.

     The right one was easy to find, even in the dark and without Itachi-no-niichan or Sasuke to lead him. He followed the sound of water to the big lake, then Sasuke's house was right there -- the one at the tip-top of the hill, with the light on, and no worn-out holes in the sliding doors like the ones that made the other houses look like ghosts. Sasuke's house was clean and shiny.

     And the chuunin who'd been chasing him were standing on the stone wall across the street from it, the one separating the Uchiha from the rest of the village. They were probably watching for him to go in. He could stay in the forest, and maybe they wouldn't come after him. Maybe they wouldn't bother Sasuke if he never went in the house. But that wouldn't be any good, either. He could hear Sasuke in his head, calling him an idiot for staying out in the cold and wet and full-of-stuff-with-claws.

     Naruto'd crept as close as he could in shadows, sticking to the edge of the forest. With the dark all around him, he made a new camouflage to match the grass and crawled belly-down on the ground. Once he was under Sasuke's back porch, he felt around for the trap door. The latch was on the inside, but he could reach it with his knife (Sasuke'd shown him the trick last weekend). Quietly, slowly, he pulled himself up inside the kitchen pantry, into the fake storage bin next to the rice, and locked the door underneath him.

     "Try his apartment," Sasuke said to someone. "I haven't seen Naruto all night."

     He'd been right. They came to the door the second he was inside. Somehow, they must have seen him even though he'd been doing his best to hide.

     "We have reason to believe he's here, and our orders are to take him into custody. Now, step aside and let us--"

     "If you came here on orders, where are your papers from the Hokage saying you can search our house? I won't let you in just because you came while my brother's not here. And he should be back any minute, by the way."

     "Why, you brat! If--"

     A deeper voice said, "That's enough. We have better things to do than rough up a pipsqueak. When we come back, kid, there won't be any excuses. If we find Naruto hiding inside, you and your brother are going to regret standing in our way."

     "Is that so? I'll be sure to give Nii-san your message. Have a nice night."

     The door slammed shut, but Naruto stayed curled in the darkness over the trap door, quiet as could be. He didn't know how to be sure the chasers were really gone, and that this time they really couldn't see him. He didn't want to get Sasuke in any more trouble. He didn't want to mess everything up at the last minute...

     The trick top on the fake bin opened over his head, and Sasuke scowled down at him. "So what's this all about, moron?" his friend asked.

     "They..." Naruto tried to be brave, and cool like Sasuke, and not to sob. But he didn't want to lose the only friend he'd ever had! "They said they didn't want me seeing you and Itachi-no-niichan anymore." Sasuke looked so far from impressed that Naruto couldn't help smiling. All the fear seemed stupid now. "Guess we showed 'em, huh?"

     Sasuke scoffed, walking off toward the stove. "You know where stuff is. I don't know if they'll be back, so leave your shoes on the trap door."

     Where he could get 'em if he had to run, and they wouldn't be out front for the chasers to see. Good thinking.

     He left the clothes that'd gotten muddy in the laundry and pulled shorts and a t-shirt from Sasuke's stuff. When he washed all the dirt off himself, it didn't look like he was cut more than a few scrapes, so he didn't need a bandage anywhere. Maybe tonight wasn't so bad.

     "You're hungry, right?"

     "Huh?"

     Naruto sniffed the air as he walked back into the kitchen. It smelled like food, but he didn't know what Sasuke was on a chair, standing in front of a row of pots, dishing noodles into a bowl. Then he dropped in a boiled egg, then a big lump of miso and some steaming water. Sasuke stirred it with a pair of chopsticks, but it didn't look like it was mixing up so well.

     His friend frowned at the bowl. "I don't think the noodles are quite done, and... I mean, it's not like we have pork chops..."

     "Is that... ramen?"

     "If you're not hungry, you don't have to eat."

     "I'll eat it! I'll eat it!"

     That made tonight the best ever! Nobody else got Sasuke Ramen! Nobody but him. Naruto peeked at the bowl his friend slid onto the table. There was even fishcake, and he hadn't known Itachi-no-niichan kept any in the pantry!

     He grabbed the chopsticks Sasuke held out for him, but Sasuke didn't let go. His friend scowled at the front door again. "Everything's going to be fine. You're here, so... it's fine." He didn't look so angry when he turned to Naruto again. "If you want to stay, you can do the dishes."

     Naruto wished he knew how to say that when he looked at Sasuke giving him a not-angry face like that, his chest swelled up til it hurt, but it was the best kind of hurt he'd ever felt. But he didn't know how to say it (especially not so Sasuke wouldn't laugh). So he murmured, "Thanks, Sasuke," and hoped it came through somehow.

~//~

     Itachi took his bag of groceries from the clerk and counted how many ninja were still trailing him.

     Four.

     He'd taken care not to give any sign that he'd spotted them -- not until he'd figured out why they were there. Today had been so ordinary, and his missions had gone cleanly. Why put him under surveillance now? Moreover, why send chuunin to tail him? It didn't make sense. If the Hokage wanted him watched, he'd send the strongest ninja in the village.

     Two more chuunin ran over the roof. Something wasn't right.

     Hiding his hand seals in the heft of his grocery bags where the ninja tracking him wouldn't see, he cast a surveillance jutsu. A black raven flew up -- alighting from the other side of a roof, for all anyone looking would know -- and followed the running ninja over the roofs. The image of them overlaid like a ghost world over his real sight showing him the road where he walked, and their conversation came to his ears as whispers.

     "Did they find him?" one asked.

     "C Team saw him going over the Uchiha's wall. How long has this been going on?!"

     "You'd think the Hokage would be watching that bastard close enough to know he was trying to get a hold on the Kyuubi boy. Well, he'll know now, and that'll be that. Let's hurry."

     Well. The school teachers had taken it upon themselves to hunt him down because they were afraid of Naruto? He'd hate to think he misjudged Iruka-san so far as that, but there was no question that these weren't troops with orders directly from the Hokage. Sandaime was anything but unaware that Naruto had been spending time with him and Sasuke.

     The sooner this was settled, at the top, the better.

     Itachi looked straight at the chuunin tailing him whom he'd identified as the squad leader and wove a one-handed hitsuji seal in plain view. Sensing their panic rise in an instant, he shrouded himself in illusion. They started counterjutsu, and a chase, but he was already gone.

     If Naruto was already over the wall, he and Sasuke could handle themselves in the house. Even if these people were chasing Minato-san's boy, they'd be idiots to use violence against two children inside the city walls -- against any citizen, without permission from the Hokage himself. And if they were idiots, Sasuke knew how to escape to somewhere safe. He could trust them to be all right.

     His course over the rooftops went straight toward the Hokage's tower. Still invisible, he perched outside the window with the best view of the desk, where the Third Hokage was frowning at the Academy's principal, head teacher, and the head of the PTA.

     The old man pulled his pipe out of his mouth. "You started a manhunt for one of your students and one of our active jounin _because he came for a parent-teacher conference_?"

     Down on the ground, Iruka-san ran in the front door at top speed, with his shouts of, "Move! I need to see the Hokage!" loud enough that half the village could probably hear. Odd that he hadn't been on the front line of this particular attack, since it'd been his conference.

     The three school officials lost all the blood in their faces under the Hokage's scrutiny. They seemed confused to hear censure instead of praise. The head teacher coughed. "Sir. When we realized what was going on, we thought you'd want--"

     "And your first mistake, Kiritsu, was that you presumed to think you knew my will on it. While I'm Hokage, Konoha is not a village where we consider men criminals for being considerate toward children."

     "But... Sir. That child... and _that man_..."

     The Hokage silenced them with a squint, and blew a draw of smoke from his pipe as he wandered toward the window. He nodded at two guards by the wall. "Get word to all the squads on alert -- this search is over. Leave the boy be." The guards walked for the door. The Third looked back out the window. "You overstepped your authority, and wasted village resources pursuing two of our own in doing so. There'll be consequences for that. But for the moment, why don't you start by explaining why exactly--"

     "Hokage-sama!" Iruka-san yelled, bursting through the same door the guards had opened to exit. Two more chuunin from the hall were trying to hold him back, but it was clear the school teacher could fight his way past if he decided he had to. He'd nearly slipped them already. "Hokage-sama, please, you have to listen to me."

     "Let him in." With a gravelly sigh, the Hokage set his pipe on his desk. "Well, Iruka. What have you got to add? I assume this is pertinent to the matter at hand."

     The head teacher, the one named Kiritsu, nodded. "Iruka-kun is the one who--"

     "I believe I asked Iruka to explain," the old man said.

     There was silence as everyone looked at the man walking into the room. Iruka looked ready to be sick. When the Hokage made the hard, disappointed expression he was making now, that tended to happen to the delicate ones.

     "Well... this afternoon, I... I talked... to Itachi-san."

     "So I've been informed."

     "About... Naruto. He wanted to know about Naruto."

     "That does seem to be everyone's concern."

     "I..." the teacher gulped, glancing sideways at his superiors, then back to the Hokage. "I respectfully disagree with the Head Teacher's assessment that this represents a danger to the village. Before you act on whatever information you've been given, please..." Iruka-san shut his eyes tight. "Please allow me to speak on Itachi-san's and Naruto's behalf!"

     Itachi indulged in a silent chuckle. The teacher had some nerve. And maybe he'd been right after all, that this one wasn't so bad.

     With a hint of a smile, the Hokage asked, "So. You don't believe Itachi's intention is to release the Nine-Tailed Fox on the village again?"

     "No, sir. Not at all."

     "Why don't you tell us all what your impression is?"

     "Sir. He... Itachi-san, that is. He... seems like a good brother. I know he cares about Sasuke. I think, from the way Sasuke's attitude has changed since the beginning of the year, he's well looked-after. And... I don't want to speak more than is my place... but Itachi-san made it clear that he values family very much. It bothers him that Naruto doesn't have one. I honestly believe that's why he came to see me today. My instinct tells me that no one who considers Naruto to be simply a means to unleash the Nine-Tailed Fox could... could ever convince Naruto to open up to him. To be friendly. Goodness knows, I've tried, and he's still shy around me most of the time. But Itachi-san succeeded. I'm glad he did, for Naruto's sake. That's what I think."

     Naive. Correct, in this case -- sometimes Itachi even forgot that Naruto had the fox inside him at all -- but that kind of assertion was still naive. As desperate as Naruto had seemed, someone with ill intentions and a cold heart could've easily suborned him with a little false kindness. It'd be nice to live in a world where they could all be as naive as this teacher.

     The Hokage turned from Iruka-san to look at the window where Itachi was perched.

     "Itachi. Care to add anything?"

     He dropped his illusions. The school officials and Iruka-san all backed three steps away from the desk as Itachi jumped through the window. He smiled at them. The three older ones started to sweat. Iruka-san looked like he'd been wrung dry of nervous sweat for the day.

     Turning to the Hokage, he said, "Sir. If I may assure you personally -- I have no intention of destroying the village. Konoha is my home." Which should have gone without saying.

     "I take it from today's excitement that your and Sasuke's association with Naruto has continued since we last discussed it?"

     That comment had been meant for the school officials, Itachi had no doubt, and the mixture of shame and discomfort on their faces indicated that it'd struck home.

     Itachi could follow that lead. "As you're aware, sir."

     "Why, yes. I am aware." The Hokage looked at the school officials directly. "Naruto's assigned caretakers did see fit to inform me that he's taken to spending evenings at your home. Then he and Sasuke are getting along, I assume."

     "I don't think I could keep them apart if I tried."

     "Excellent. It's good for a kid to have friends. Kiritsu, would you care to explain why you still don't look satisfied?"

     The head teacher shifted his gaze from the Hokage to Itachi, his features carefully set so as not to show any hint of his thoughts -- and revealing his strain all the more for that. His actions had been taken on the belief, apparently, that Itachi had meant to destroy the village. With no evidence to support that gross failure of judgment, the Hokage would never be swayed, and Kiritsu had to know that. He'd try something else.

     "Iruka-kun's... assessment... of Uchiha-san's compass is appreciated, of course, but Iruka-kun is a first year teacher. As a long-serving member of the faculty, I have more doubts about the... gentleman's... family situation. He's..."

     Itachi dared him with a frown to say _one word_ about his family. That conversation would not end well. Whether the head teacher understood that warning, or whether he was ruled by his own better sense, Kiritsu swallowed whatever he was thinking and tried a different tack.

     "He's... among our village's most relied-upon jounin. Hokage-sama, sir... Uchiha-san is frequently away from the village for days at a time on assignment. It's village policy, which you yourself endorsed, to lay that kind of burden on ninja who either have no children, have children of responsible age, or who share guardianship with another adult. Up to now, I haven't contested his ability to be Sasuke-kun's guardian due to Sasuke-kun's excellent performance in class--"

     Without moving a muscle, Itachi let the anger he'd been holding boil to the surface. The force of his will pushed like a wave through the air. Every ninja sensed it at once. Guards and teachers alike reached for weapons and snapped to defense. Only the Hokage didn't arm himself, although he shook his head with a sigh.

     Into the silence, Itachi said, "My brother is not subject to negotiation." It wasn't a threat -- although if the elders of Konoha went back on their promise to let Sasuke live safely, there would be blood. This was his perfect certainty that the promise was good.

     "A-as I said, Sasuke-kun seems to be fine... But... But I cannot stand by and allow Uchiha-san, w-who has so many responsibilities to the village already, to take guardianship of a second child -- especially a... a problem-child like Naruto. It's not in the best interests of Naruto-kun, of Sasuke-kun, of Uchiha-san himself, or of this village as a whole. Hokage-sama, I beg you to reconsider allowing this association to continue."

     Taking his seat, the Hokage wore a thoughtful expression. "This may come as a surprise to you, Kiritsu, but as the Hokage I am quite familiar with the service Itachi has done and continues to do for Konoha. Perhaps more familiar with it than anyone in this room save Itachi himself. Even so, I'm not inclined to tell schoolchildren who their friends are allowed to be. As for Itachi becoming Naruto's legal guardian, no one's suggested it -- and if he asks, I promise it'll be none of your damn business!"

     "But... Hokage-sama..."

     Itachi mused aloud, "_Could_ I be Naruto's legal guardian?"

     He hadn't considered that possibility, but he wasn't impressed with the job Naruto's official caretakers had been doing.

     While the school administrators looked ready to choke on their own indignation, the Third turned his frown in Itachi's direction. "I'll take it under advisement. You'll all hear from me once I decide what needs doing. Right now, I want everybody the hell out of my office."

     "Yes, sir!"

     Kiritsu and company left first, followed by Iruka-san, who ducked the opposite direction when he reached the hallway. The teacher's lounge would probably be tense for the next few weeks. Itachi, for his part, wasn't going to show his back to any of them. He stayed a few feet back. He took it as a point of pride that he would never start that fight.

     A presence waited in the shadows outside the door.

     "Commander," Itachi greeted Danzou in a murmur.

     The aging officer stepped into view. "Itachi."

     "How may I help you?"

     "Do me a favor, Itachi. No more illusions when the caretakers check on Naruto. If Hiruzen is going to grant your little request, you'd best not be showing those boys you think Konoha's ninja are enemies to be fooled."

     The caretakers themselves had shown no signs of noticing, but it befitted the leader of the ANBU to be more aware. It changed nothing, however.

     "Is that worse than Konoha's ninja treating them as enemies to be feared? Six years ago, that was me. Children thrive on meeting expectations."

     "I'll mind the attitudes of the caretakers who knock on your door. You mind being the role model those boys are watching. We're counting on you."

     "Yes, sir."

     With a nod, his commander let him go. The walk home from the tower seemed longer than usual, and the lack of eyes on him (for now) felt like an old chain had dissolved into mist. If only there were a way to be sure Sasuke could grow up without that weight on his shoulders.

     One victory at a time.

     No guards around his house, Itachi saw with a trace of cheer, and the door hadn't been broken down. The outside street was free of signs of battle as far as he could see.

     The smell of boiled noodles and miso hung thick when he got inside.

     "Nii-san!"

     He caught the black-haired projectile that was his adorable little brother and swung Sasuke up onto his shoulders as he walked in. Naruto waited at the table, all smiles, and wearing one of Sasuke's blue t-shirts with the Uchiha fan. Itachi chuckled, wondering exactly how much the PTA would overreact if they ever saw that symbol on the blond boy's back.

     "Were you two holding the line?"

     "The guys chasing Naruto told me to tell you we'd be sorry."

     "But Sasuke never let 'em in! I heard the whole thing!" The distinctive Uzumaki grin fell off his face. "And we saw them leave, so... so everything's all right, right?"

     Itachi ruffled his hair. "Everything's fine. Your teacher and I talked to the Hokage, and the Hokage told those men they were stupid for trying to tell you who your friends could be."

     "_Woohoo!_"

     Naruto jumped onto his chair, reaching both hands up (one of which Sasuke deigned to answer with a fistbump). Dropping his bag of groceries, Itachi pulled chopsticks out of a bowl of three-quarters-cooked ramen noodles with a clump of miso barely dissolved in the middle.

     "And I see you already made dinner."

     "Do you want some?" Sasuke asked. "I can get you a bowl!" He sounded so proud.

     Chuckling, he said, "How could I say no?"

     He'd teach Sasuke how to make proper miso broth some other day.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [(Nice Dream)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/102646) by [Hokuto](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hokuto/pseuds/Hokuto)




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